Special delivery
by saphira404
Summary: AU What would you do if a mysterious woman knocked on your door on Valentine's Day? Falling in love with her was defenitely not in his plan. Sessh/Kagura and slight IY/Kagome and Miroku/Sango. Rated M for citrus and language.
1. Valentine's Day delivery

**SPECIAL DELIVERY**

A/N: Hello dear readers of mine. Here I come with a new story I hope you'll enjoy. It's going to be a multi chapter story, but it won't be as long as "Indecent proposal" (at least not based on my original plan…). Read, enjoy and review!

_Summary:_ _**AU**_ _She was supposed to be a prank they played on him, a woman of total insignificance. Unfortunately for him, his heart had a different plan. Sessh/Kagura. Rated M for citrus and language._

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

_**Chapter1: Valentine's Day delivery**_

It was a Saturday night, and just like every weekend, Sesshomarou Takahashi was savoring a fine glass of whisky while watching TV. It had never occurred to the dog demon to just like his brother Inuyasha or his friend Miroku, try find a date to spend his Valentine's Day with. No, Sesshomarou was a busy man and he had no time for pointless distractions, especially when it came to celebrations.

_`As usual nothing interesting on TV.'_ The dog demon thought with a disgusted frown as he surfed through the channels of his flat screen TV.

The silver haired demon almost jolted in surprise when he heard the bell of his apartment ring. Glancing at his watch and noticing how late it was, he sighed heavily.

_`Who could come disturb this Sesshomarou at such a time?'_ he wondered as he slowly made his way to the door, a sour expression on his face. There was nothing he hated more than being disturbed during his quiet time. Hearing the bell ring a few more times, the dog demon pondered with exasperation what choice words he would greet the person making all this ruckus.

Sesshomarou swung the front door of his penthouse open, with a mask of anger on his face. The first thing the dog noticed when he opened the door was a big pair of deep crimson eyes, then a sensual luscious red painted mouth. Shaking his head as he caught himself wondering what taste these lips could have, the dog demon took a step back to pay closer attention to the woman standing on his doormat.

Noticing the pointed ears revealed by the tight feather ornamented bun her hair was held in, he could tell she was a demoness at first glance. To his relief the woman was not Sada, his noisy neighbor who had set her eyes on him and had tried to give him chocolates in celebration of Valentine's Day earlier in the day. Sesshomarou's vicious rebuttal had apparently deterred the woman.

"A _special_ delivery for Mr. Sesshomarou Takahashi" The raven haired beauty dressed in a very revealing short red dress said huskily with a seductive smirk.

As soon as he noticed the woman's unabashed flirting, the previous attraction Sesshomarou had felt for her disappeared. Taking his time to pay closer attention to the demoness he noticed a few things. Firstly Sesshomarou hated her dress, not only was its length ridiculously short, but the dress also had a plunging neckline which revealed the pale skin of the valley between her breasts. To the dog demon there was nothing less attractive than a woman who did not let much of her attractive curves to the imagination.

Also the demoness wore too much make up to his liking, not to mention the fact that she seemed a little too thin. Was she to put on a few pounds, dress classier, and wash her face of the excessive make up she had on, he was sure she would be a gorgeous woman.

"Where do I sign?" He asked coldly, wanting to crush any attempt of flirting from the woman's part, get his mysterious delivery as fast as possible and get back to his glass of whisky and pointless boring TV program.

"Don't worry honey the bill's already been taken car of" The woman said on a husky tone, amused by Sesshomarou's tone and choice of wording.

"Then make your delivery and leave" Sesshomarou said.

"Well that's a funny way to put it. In any case are you going to let me in or what?" Not waiting for Sesshomarou's consent, she pushed through him and walked past him to quickly find herself inside his luxurious penthouse.

"It's a nice place you've got here. By the way my name's Kaze" The scarlet eyed woman identified herself. With a frown and mild cursing under her breath she then tugged at the hem of her dress unsuccessfully trying to elongate it.

"What do you want? This Sesshomarou does not like repeating himself. Make you delivery and leave at once" Sesshomarou said crossing his arms over his chest in exasperation. Never the dog demon would have thought he would agree with his father statement that `service was just not what it used to be'.

"You are a strange man… then again I've seen worse" Kaze said rolling her eyes as she walked over to Sesshomarou and laid her hand on his shirt covered chest.

Shocked by the warmth radiating from her hand more than by her action, the dog demon batted the demoness's hand away. What unnerved him the most was the delightful little tingling sensation he had felt at the feel of her touching him.

"Oh no touching? I get it. In truth I like it better this way." With a smirk, the demoness then deciding to make herself more comfortable, sat down on Sesshomarou's couch and smiled up at him seductively. She crossed her long milky legs and dangled her red four inches heels ornamented feet.

"What are you doing?" Sesshomarou asked opening his eyes wide in surprise at seeing how comfortably the woman had set in, in his living room.

"What do you mean? I haven't even started yet, but I will as soon as you go get changed and we can get going. Seriously don't you want the service you paid for?" Kaze asked as she stood up. She was confused and mortified at the idea that she could have gotten the wrong address. She would not put it past her "boss" Naraku to have made such a ridiculous mistake.

"What kind of service?" Sesshomarou asked, even if a part of him could already guess.

"Duh I'm your _escort_ for the night!" Kaze said rolling her eyes in exasperation.

She winced as she saw the appalled and disgusted look on the handsome silver haired man standing merely a few feet away from her.

With an expression of rage, Sesshomarou seized Kaze by the arm and dragged her to the door of his apartment.

"Hey! What the fuck is wrong with you?" She asked in outrage as she struggled and squirmed desperately trying to break the hold he had on her arm.

"This Sesshomarou is not in need of a _whore_" he said as he dragged the woman to the front door of his apartment a look of furry and revulsion on his face.

"A _whore_?" She echoed incredulously. "I'm not a prostitute! I'm an _escort_. We were supposed to go out to dinner that's all, nothing more. In any case I wouldn't sleep with you even if you paid me a million dollars to do it" The woman spat venomously. All her squirming was finally successful and Kaze broke the hold Sesshomarou had on her.

"Hey asshole if you don't want to employ them, then don't waste people's time." Kaze screamed in furry and shock as it was the first time a client had thrown her out. But the wind sorceress was afraid of something else, which was the rage Naraku would be when he would hear about what had just happen.

"I did not hire you. Now leave this Sesshomarou's presence at once!" He said before throwing her out.

"Hey what do you mean? It's your name on the bill! Anyway… whatever." Not letting Sesshomarou's rejection affect her, Kaze threw the bill at him and left stomping her feet in pure rage.

After looking at the cursing woman walking down the corridor of his apartment building and making sure that she had indeed left, Sesshomarou looked down at the crumbled ball of paper Kaze had thrown at him. It was with no surprise that Sesshomarou saw that the name of the people who had paid for Kaze's _service,_ were none other than "M. Houshi and I. Takahashi"

Growling in frustration as he pictured the kind of punishment and torture he was going to inflict on his idiotic half brother and his best friend Sesshomarou walked back to his apartment.

* * *

"Where in the hell is it?" Sesshomarou asked aloud as he rummaged all around his apartment. The dog demon cursed as he noticed the clutter covering his working space. He knew that in order to be more efficient he would need to rearrange and store his many files and clean his desk, but he had yet to find the will and the time to do so.

Deciding to simply push back to later his revenge over the little prank Inuyasha and Miroku had played on him; the dog demon had tried to focus on work. Unfortunately the morning after Kaze's impromptu _visit_, Sesshomarou could not find the precious USB flash drive, which contained the important ideas and numbers for the big advertising campaign he had been working on for the past weeks.

_`This is all Shinji's fault. He just had to get married, move out of the city and leave me alone with this incompetent Mika for a secretary! How can I work properly in these conditions?'_ An exasperated Sesshomarou thought.

Struggling to remember where his flash drive could be, the dog demon tried to picture when the last time he had seen it was. Sesshomarou could not quite remember where he had put the flash drive, but something in what he had thought about before caught is attention.

_`Talking about incompetent women… I am sure she is to blame. This…_ Kaze _she is the one who stole my flash drive! This is all those two idiots fault! Giving my address to unsavory women such as her'_ The dog demon thought feeling a growl of annoyance form in his chest.

Sesshomarou sat down on an armchair and drummed his claws on its arms in an impatient gesture. For once he cursed his reluctance to make copies of his precious folders. He was aware that he was not left with many different options. He could either once more go through the troublesome process of trying to gather information on the company and product he was trying to promote, which would be too time consuming. Or he could always find the mysterious Kaze and make her give back the flash drive he was sure she had stolen. The choice was easily made…

_`I have to find her. No matter whatever it might cost me, I have to find Kaze and when I do she is going to regret stealing from this Sesshomarou'_ He thought with darkened amber eyes glinting in pure anger and hatred.

The dog demon grinned evilly as he knew exactly where to start to find the woman in question. He quickly took out his cell phone and used the speed dial.

"Hello?" A sleepy voice asked at the other end of the phone after a few rings.

"It's already ten in the morning. Rise and shine little brother, you and I have lots to discuss" Sesshomarou said on a low threatening tone.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Wonder what Sesshy is going to do to poor Inuyasha. I am pretty sure you have all guessed what the real identity of Kaze is, but more shall be said about her in the next chapter named **Payback**.

Do not worry, the next chapter of Indecent Proposal will be posted tomorrow!


	2. Payback

_**Chapter2: Payback**_

A/N: I'm so happy I already received so much love and support for this story. Thanks so much to all, especially my reviewers:

_On _

**Soojinyeh**

**ALLheartsONfraya**

**Jinxy-sama**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Sychotic**

**Killersupergirl**

**Ngoc Chau**

**Yazoo IS Superior**

**Inu-midoriko**

**Crimsondawn365**

_On _

**Sovereignty**

**Anime-rocks-1010**

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

`I have to find her. No matter whatever it might cost me, I have to find Kaze and when I do she is going to regret stealing from this Sesshoumaru' _He thought with darkened amber eyes glinting in pure anger and hatred._

_The dog demon grinned evilly as he knew exactly where to start to find the woman in question. He quickly took out his cell phone and used the speed dial._

"_Hello?" A sleepy voice asked at the other end of the phone after a few rings._

"_It's already_ _ten_ _in the morning. Rise and shine little brother, you and I have lots to discuss"_ _Sesshoumaru_ _said on a low threatening tone._

"Fuck Sesshoumaru is that you?" The voice at the other hand of the receiver asked in a sleep heavy raspy voice.

"You once more disappoint me Inuyasha. Who else could I be?" The dog demon said dryly almost rolling his eyes in irritation. "Do not worry, at the present moment this Sesshoumaru does not have the time to punish you for the little… _prank_ you played on me. Besides the plan was carried a little too well and I therefore infer it was Miroku's idea and not yours".

"Keh! Are you implying I'm stupid?" Inuyasha groaned.

"We will not discuss the matter of your lack of intellect as it is a subject too broad and the discussion certainly would take us most of the day. I want to know where the woman is." The elder brother said sternly.

Instead of starting an argument with his brother over his previous remark, the half demon smirked as he answered "Well what do you know? Did Fluffy-sama enjoy her so much that you would want to see her again?"

"I assure you this Sesshoumaru would enjoy breaking your neck more." The dog demon answered to his brother's jab. "It appears that before I threw her out of my apartment, the woman stole my flash drive. The one containing _all_ the details of the accounts I manage…"

"Oh fuck! I thought the ad campaigns you personally manage are supposed to be so confidential that you barely have any records on them…" Inuyasha thought feeling a shiver of fear running down his spine.

The inu hanyou was aware that if Miroku and his prank had somehow negatively impacted Sesshoumaru's work, the two of them were done for. There was one thing, and one thing only that truly mattered to Sesshoumaru, and it was his job. This was the main reason why as soon as he stepped foot into the Takahashi agency, the advertising company where he, his brother and Miroku worked, Inuyasha knew that no quarreling between Sesshoumaru and he would be tolerated. But of course there always was happy hour right after work…

"Precisely. Now my dear idiotic brother, you are going to tell me where I can find this woman before she realizes how important the files she has in her possession are" Sesshoumaru said with an impatient sigh.

"Feh! I'll have to ask Miroku, he's the one that knows the girl and who talked to her boss. Let me ask him and I'll call you back to tell you where she's at" Inuyasha answered.

"You have ten minutes" Sesshoumaru said as he suddenly hung up on his brother.

* * *

Sesshoumaru once more looked down in surprise at the piece of paper where he had scribbled down the address of the mysterious _Kaze_ Inuyasha had given him. Reassured that he indeed had found the right place, with a nonchalant shrug, Sesshoumaru entered the coffee shop. When Miroku had mentioned that the woman worked during the day, the dog demon had immediately imagined he would have to step inside a sleazy strip joint. To his surprise the dog demon had just stepped into a, yes slightly old, but altogether cozy, coffee house.

Not bothering to sit at one of the small wooden tables, the dog demon marched inside and scrutinized any dark haired woman he came across. To his relief it did not take him long to spot Kaze, the feathers in the bun was a giveaway... The wind demoness was frantically trying to make an espresso machine spill out its hot content, but it appeared that the she was losing her battle against the machine.

"Damn it!" The woman cursed loudly as she banged her fist on the machine.

"Woman!" Sesshoumaru hissed as he leaned against the counter behind which Kaze was working.

"Give me a minute I'll be right with you" She said back, not bothering to turn around. The wind sorceress was too busy trying to mop the spilled hot coffee from the counters.

_`Just what I need. She's so going to take the money of the repairs off my paycheck! Naraku is going to be_ _so_ _happy…'_ The wind witch thought in lamentation as she looked down at the broken espresso machine.

Not liking one bit to be ignored by the demoness, Sesshoumaru said on a composed tone "Kaze, this Sesshoumaru wants you to return what you have taken from me"

The words were barely out of his mouth that the woman turned around quickly. All the color had drained from her face, and she looked as if she was going to faint.

"How did you…? Don't call me that. Not here! And my name's Kagura. Got it? _Kagura_!" The demoness snapped.

"I do not care for your name" Sesshoumaru answered back, even if he could not prevent his mind from straying _`Kagura does suit her better than Kaze'_ he remarked as he took in Kagua's face. To his pleasure, the wind sorceress only had very little make up on, contrary to the previous evening. This coupled with the more covering clothes she was wearing, made Kagura more attractive to him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. All I know is that you should leave, _now_!" Kagura said nervously. She had no idea why the client who had unceremoniously thrown her out of his place just the night before would come find her.

"This Sesshoumaru will only leave when you have returned what you have stolen. I am magnanimous, if you return the flash drive I will not press charges" The dog demon said. Of course pressing charges had never even been an option. If the media ever came across the story of the famous and wealthy advertising mogul had important documents stolen by an escort, they would have a field day.

"Press charges?... Stolen?" Kagura echoed in confusion.

"What is the meaning of this? Okay that's the last straw. Kagura you're a sweet girl, but there's always too much drama going on around you" A young, but white haired human woman said as she walked up to the two demons.

"Wait Tsubaki it's not what you think. I don't know even know what the guy wants…" Kagura protested.

"Don't want to hear excuses" The owner of the coffee shop said raising her hand to cut Kagura. "If you're not coming in late, you're coming exhausted and so you don't give it your all. You broke the espresso machine _twice_ and you're also always bringing your distraction of a kid with you… As if that was not bad enough you even have your _boyfriend_ coming over. No Kagura, enough is enough. You're fired." The white haired human rounded the counter and plunged her hand inside the cash register.

Tsubaki took out a few bills and handed them to the wind sorceress. "Take you stuff, your kid and leave."

"Wait Tsubaki you can't do this to me. I _need_ this job!" Kagura tried pleading.

"I'm sorry, but next time you'll think about it before mixing your private life…" The human interrupted herself to glare at Sesshoumaru. "And your job. I wish you well Kagura, I really do." Without another word the human left and stepped back into her office at the back of the coffee shop.

The dog demon watched at the scene with an unconcerned expression on his face. A part of him realized Kagura had just been fired because of him, but another part could not help but point out that had the wind sorceress not stolen from him she would not be in the situation to begin with.

Just as Sesshoumaru was about to ask Kagura about his precious flash drive, he heard his cell phone ring. Knowing that only a few people used this number, he decided to answer.

"Mr. Takahashi, it's Maki your interim secretary" A shy voice said at the other end of the line.

"This Sesshoumaru is aware of who you are. What is it? And make it quick!" The dog demon said. As his golden eyes followed Kagura as she slowly took off her apron and gathered her things in her purse, he could not suppress a small pang of guilt from spreading through him.

"I am so very sorry sir, I just realized I forgot to put your flash drive in your briefcase yesterday. Remember you asked me to make copies… and I just… I forgot I am so sorry Mr. Takahashi" The woman said, by the tone of her voice the dog demon could tell she was on the verge of tears. Sesshoumaru could only respond with a groan of annoyance and disgust at her display of emotion.

"I see. Call my brother tell him to go fetch it" Without another word, the dog demon hung up. Sesshoumaru was both embarrassed and guilty, needless to say two emotions he was not familiar with. He was aware that he would have to apologize to Kagura, but he was not willing to do so.

"It appears this Sesshoumaru was mistaken" He simply stated before turning and walking towards the exit of the coffee shop. He had barely made two steps towards the door, that he heard Kagura walking to round the counter.

"You son of a bitch. You come to my workplace, insult me, get me fired and believe you can fucking get away with it?" Kagura asked her crimson eyes burning in furry.

"I apologized" He stated matter-of-factly.

"You've got to be kidding me! Do you think that a simple _apology_ is enough when you just messed up someone's life like that? I can tell you're loaded so to you a job as a waitress may be _nothing_, but that was _MY life_! My way of getting money, to get me out of the shit hole my life is, so thanks for destroying my life, insensitive bastard!" Without another word Kagura turned around and crouched under the counter to grab her things.

Sesshoumaru looked at the wind sorceress in complete astonishment. Never had someone dared talk to him in such a way before. Her words had made his guilt grow tenfold. Deciding not to deal with the uncanny negative feelings he was not accustomed to feelings churning inside him, the dog demon quickly walked out of the coffee shop.

As soon as he stepped out of the old building, Sesshoumaru took a deep breath of crisp cold air to steady his raging mind.

_`I am not responsible. She brought her bad fortune upon herself'_ Sesshoumaru tried reasoning, even if the words sounded false to him.

He buried his hands in his coat's pocket to shield himself from the biting cold before walking to his car.

* * *

After gathering all her things Kagura felt treacherous tears want to spill from her crimson eyes. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself.

_`Whatever happened I promised I would not cry anymore. No, Naraku already made me shed too many tears.'_ She told herself as she faked a smile while walking towards one of the coffee shop tables.

"Kanna-chan sorry to wake you up baby" Kagura whispered as she gently shook awakened her two and a half years old daughter. The infant had been sleeping in one of the booths against the back wall of the coffee shop. The pale youkai girl opened her dark black eyes and looked at her mother. The wind sorceress was not surprised by Kanna's lack of fuss or verbal indignation at being awakened from her nap.

"We're going home early today honey." Kagura said after dressing Kanna in her protective winter gear.

"Now come on up" the wind sorceress added with a smile as she took her expectant pale blond daughter in her arms and balanced her weight on her hip before throwing her purse over her shoulder.

Trying to act as normal as possible, even if she knew Naraku was going to give her hell as soon as she got back home, the wind witch walked out of her former workplace. She knew Naraku would be mad at her for losing her job, but also for not bringing in any money yesterday.

_`To think that both occasions are linked to the same infuriating man! That damn dog demon. If I ever see him again, I'll neuter him!'_ Kagura thought angrily as she walked towards her home. Her reflection was cut short when she heard her daughter cough.

"Did you catch a cold Kanna-chan?" Kagura wondered aloud, worry seeping into her voice.

The wind witch started walking faster and fought off a shiver of cold before snuggling her daughter closer to protect her from the icy weather. The wind sorceress bit back a curse as she noticed snow had started falling from the sky.

"Just my luck! Can my day get any worse?" Kagura wondered aloud plaintively.

The words were barely out of her mouth that she heard a voice calling from next to her:

"Do you need a ride?"

**To be continued…**

A/N: Who could be willing to help Kagura? Is Sesshy going to be less of a jerk any time soon? Let's find out in the next chapter **Rash decisions**.


	3. Rash decisions

_**Chapter3: Rash decisions**_

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! They always encourage me and make me want to write more!

_On _

**The Freak locked in ur closet**

**Killersupergirl** (Kagura having good fortune? Hmm knowing my evilness it's not likely...)

Crimsondawn365

**Sychotic**

**Ngoc Chau**

**Inu-midoriko**

**Little Green Purse** (I'm sorry you feel that way, but all I can say is that before setting your mind on what type of story this is, you should wait and read more of it. Also this story is a fan fiction based on the same characters, so it's not that surprising if you feel like their behaviors is similar to my previous work, since it's the way I perceive the character. Kagura's behavior will however improve later on in the story ^_^)

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Yazoo IS Superior**

**Jinxy-sama**

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

`To think that all my rotten luck is linked to the same infuriating man! That damn dog demon. If I ever see him again, I'll neuter him!' _Kagura thought_ _angrily as she walked towards her home. Her reflection was cut short when she heard her daughter cough._

"_Did you catch a cold Kanna-chan?" Kagura wondered aloud, worry seeping into her voice._

_The wind witch started walking faster and fought off a shiver of cold before snuggling her daughter closer to protect her from the icy weather. The wind sorceress bit back a curse as she noticed snow had started falling from the sky._

"_Just my luck! Can my day get any worse?" She wondered aloud._

_The words were barely out of her mouth that she heard a voice calling from next to her:_

"_Do you need a ride?"_

* * *

He did not know why, but Sesshoumaru had yet to start his car and drive off home. He simply could not bring himself to do it.

_`It's all father and that damn witch's fault. How can the fact that she called me_ `insensitive' _the same thing father used to say was my biggest flaw in becoming an effective leader, affect me so much?'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a deep frown.

Having settled his mind on "I'll deal with it later mode", Sesshoumaru started his car. As he left the coffee shop's parking lot, to his surprise he saw none other than Kagura. What surprised him the most, was despite the cold weather the wind sorceress seemed determined to walk instead of driving.

_`What foolish behavior, especially with a child'_ the dog demon thought. Once it occurred to him that Kagura simply might not have a car, for a reason unknown to even himself he drove up to her and stopped at the curb right next to the wind sorceress.

"Do you need a ride?" he asked nonchalantly, through the open car window, not even bothering to look at the woman he was addressing.

As she noticed Sesshoumaru's presence, Kagura could barely stifle a groan of exasperation. She increased her pace, and decided to simply ignore the dog demon. Even when she started walking faster and faster, Sesshoumaru's slick black luxury car was still trailing behind her. Hesitating between total fear and hysteria that the man had been following her a _little_ too much to her taste for the past two days, and wonder at his sudden bout of helpfulness.

The wind sorceress suddenly stopped and turned on her side to face the black car that had also come to a stop.

"Stop following me!" Kagura screamed with burning crimson eyes.

"You have yet to answer my question" The dog demon retorted. He would have left a long time ago, but there was one thing Sesshoumaru could not tolerate and that was being _ignored_, which Kagura had seemed hell bent on doing up until that point.

Kagura was about to once more turn down Sesshoumaru's offer, but once she heard Kanna cough again, she realized that if her daughter was starting to develop a cold, staying under the snow would not be the best alterative,

_`Then again wonder what's worse between cold weather and Naraku…'_ Kagura could not help but wonder as she felt a shiver of fear run down her spine at the idea of what Naraku would do to her. _`All I really care about is that he doesn't hurt Kanna. I can take care of myself.'_ the wind sorceress told herself.

"Why are you even willing to help me now? Are you trying to apologize for being a jerk?" Kagura asked suspicious of Sesshoumaru's motives.

"While you are wasting time, the child is freezing" The dog demon remarked casually.

"Don't you dare tell me how to raise _my_ daughter!" Kagura snapped in fury. Sesshoumaru's haughty attitude was really getting on her nerves, which were already on edge at the idea of meeting with Naraku.

"As you wish wind witch" Sesshoumaru simply said ready to leave. A part of him was glad that the wind sorceress had not taken him on his offer, but on the other hand he still could not shake off the feeling of guilt he experienced due to Kagura's situation.

_`Why do I care so much? I have taken over other advertising companies, even when I did not really need them, just to destroy the competition. In the past I also have fired hundreds of employees without a second thought… Maybe father was right, dealing with a living breathing person and not a list of numbers and names is indeed different'_ Sesshoumaru mused. His golden eyes shifted to the woman and her child standing on the frozen street walk.

Kagura bit he lower red lip, and looked down into Kanna's big dark eyes.

_`Damn it this is really one of these "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situations. I need to get Kanna out of the cold, but can I trust this weird guy? Then again, he does need to make it up to me for all the shitty problems he caused me_ Kagura thought angrily as she thought back to the mess Sesshoumaru had thrust her into.

"Kanna-chan can you cover your ears for mommy? Just for a little bit, okay?" Kagura asked as she settled her daughter on the ground. Being as obedient as she had always been, it did not take long for the pale blond youkai to comply. Smiling at her daughter Kagura bent forward towards Sesshoumaru's car and asked to the demon sitting inside the warm vehicle.

"So seriously why the fuck are you being all nice now? Trying to make up for being such an asshole before?" She screamed at him venomously.

Knowing that he did indeed deserve the name calling, the dog demon simply answered "This Sesshoumaru only wished to assist you."

"And let me guess _this Sesshoumaru only does as he pleases_?" Kagura asked mocking him.

"Indeed" Sesshoumaru answered resting his golden eyes on Kagura's crimson orbs.

The wind sorceress looked down at her daughter who was silently staring up at her. _`I can't have Kanna being sick right now, Naraku is already going to be so mad, I really don't want him to hurt her. Anyway it's just a ride, nothing more.'_ Having made her mind, Kagura turned around to gather her daughter in her arms and said through gritted teeth "Fine we accept you offer".

The words were barely out of her mouth that Sesshoumaru exited is car and opened the back door for Kagura and Kanna.

"I do not have a car seat" The dog demon remarked as he watched Kagura and Kanna get settled in the back seat of his car.

"It's okay; I don't live very far from here anyway" Kagura answered smiling slightly at his masked concern.

_`Maybe he's not such an ass after all… I knew a guy this_ hot _couldn't be all bad.'_ As she realized what she had just said, the wind sorceress could not prevent a nice red blush from spreading on her cheeks. _`I shouldn't be thinking like that. It's not like I'm free anyway'._

"What is it?" The dog demon asked as he noticed Kagura's face turning a cute shade of red.

"Nothing at all. Can you just drive me home already?" The wind sorceress snapped.

With a snort, Sesshoumaru closed the door behind Kagura and rounded the car to settle in the driver's seat.

* * *

"You can stop doing that you know" Kagura said aloud as she stared at the silver head in front of her.

"What are you talking about?" Sesshoumaru retorted.

"Your staring thingy. Don't worry Kanna is potty trained and anyway she's wearing a diaper just in case, so she won't ruin your precious leather interior" Kagura said with a roll of her eyes.

"This Sesshoumaru was having no such thoughts" he protested without averting his gaze from the windshield .

In truth the dog demon was merely observing the child for two reasons. The first one being that she looked _nothing_ like her mother. Their colorings were polar opposites as was their attitude towards speaking. The second reason why Sesshoumaru was so intently staring at Kanna was that he never had seen such a well behaved child. In his mind every time the idea of infant popped it, he pictured them as disgusting sticky screaming messes.

"She does not cry" The dog demon commented.

"Oh yeah my Kanna is very well behaved" The wind sorceress said with a warm smile never missing an opportunity to boast about her dear daughter.

"She may not like talking much, but it doesn't mean anything, Kanna just loves observing people. And anyway she only cries when things are really bad…" Kagura trailed off, but added in her mind _`for example when Naraku uses me as a punching bag…'_ This train of thought made Kagura remember that Sesshoumaru's sleek luxury car was surely taking her towards a very painful punishment.

Sesshoumaru looked at Kagura suspiciously due to her remark, but did not comment on it. The wind sorceress pushed the scary memory aside as she noticed the car had pulled over in front of her house.

"We're home Kanna-chan" Kagura said trying to sound cheerful. She could only hope that Naraku was either not home or asleep. The wind sorceress picked up her daughter and with the help of the dog demon, who as a true gentleman had stepped out of the car to help her, Kagura exited Sesshoumaru's car.

"Well, sorry for being all bitchy earlier, I was taking my anger out on you... Anyway thanks for the ride. That was really nice from you." The wind sorceress said as she positioned Kanna at her hip and placed her purse at her shoulder before walking away.

"Maybe you're not such a jerk after all, then again I wouldn't bet on it." Kagura with a chuckle called over her shoulder to Sesshoumaru as she entered the small one story house.

Shrugging in feigned non concern the dog demon walked over to the driver's seat of his car. To his annoyance, he could not suppress a small close lipped smile from appearing on his lips. Shaking his head in dismay he opened his vehicle's door, but before he got to enter his car, the loud sound of crashing glass resonated from inside the house where Kagura and Kanna had just disappeared.

The surprising sound made Sesshoumaru stop dead in his tracks. Getting out of his seat, he stood to his full height. Then straining to hear more and try to identify what was going on; the dog demon stepped closer to the house.

_`What am I doing? I repaid my debt to Kagura. From now on whatever happens to her is none of my concern'_ Sesshoumaru scolded himself as he walked back towards his car, shaking his head in dismay at his own foolishness.

More sounds of breaking objects coupled with shouts were heard coming from the house. But what surprised Sesshoumaru the most was the sounds of tears and sobs, his acute demon hearing could pick up. He was absolutely sure Kanna was crying.

***Flashback***

"She may not like talking much, but it doesn't mean anything, Kanna just loves observing people. And anyway she only cries when things are really bad…"

***End of Flashback***

`_Was abuse what the witch meant by_ _things get_ bad_?'_ Sesshoumaru wondered, worried despite himself. The dog demon knew that if he did not do anything, the sounds of screams, breaking objects and Kanna's crying would probably haunt him for a long time.

"This woman is so troublesome" Sesshoumaru said aloud as he hurried to the front door of the house, teeth gritted in frustration and anger.

Breathing deeply the dog demon raised his clawed hand to the knob of the front door. Noticing that it was locked, he only took a second to make his decision. After taking a step back, Sesshoumaru raised his right powerful leg and kicked open the door.

Nothing had prepared the dog demon to the scene his golden eyes came across when he walked past the broken wooden doorframe and entered the small dark house…

**To be continued…**

A/N: So Sesshy is redeeming himself. What is going on in the house? Find out next time in **Choices**.


	4. Choices

_**Chapter 4: Choices**_

Hello dear readers, here comes the next chapter of the story, hope you enjoy. Thanks for the reviews!

_On _

**The Freak locked in ur closet**

**Killersupergirl** (Is Super Sesshy to the rescue? We'll see…)

**Crimsondawn365**

**Sychotic**

**Ngoc Chau**

**Inu-midoriko**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Yazoo IS Superior**

**Jinxy-sama**

**Devatron2000**

**Kaze Tsukai no Kagura**

**ALLheartsOnFraya**

**Kagura Uchiha**

_On _

**Luvininu28**

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

_`Was abuse what the witch meant by things get_ bad_?' Sesshoumaru wondered, worried despite himself. The dog demon knew that if he did not do anything, the sounds of screams, breaking objects and Kanna's crying would probably haunt him for a long time._

"_This woman is so troublesome" Sesshoumaru said aloud as he hurried to the front door of the house, teeth gritted in frustration and anger._

_Breathing deeply the dog demon raised his clawed hand to the knob of the front door. Noticing that it was locked, he only took a second to make his decision. After taking a step back, Sesshoumaru raised his right powerful leg and kicked open the door._

_Nothing had prepared the dog demon to the scene his golden eyes came across when he walked past the broken wooden doorframe and entered the small dark house._

A dark haired man was holding Kagura against the wall. One of his large pale hands was gripping her throat tightly.

"Where is my money?" The man screamed at Kagura's face, not even paying attention to the sound of splinting wood that had come from the front door of his house.

The dog demon could easily tell by Kagura's pale color, that she could not breathe. Not taking the time to ponder on the best course of action, Sesshoumaru took advantage of the element of surprise his barging in had created, and launched himself on the man.

Without any effort, Sesshoumaru managed to push the man off Kagura. As soon as she was set free, the wind sorceress fell to the floor on her knees coughing violently as she rushed to breathe in air.

_`Naraku almost killed me.'_ She thought as she looked up to see why he had suddenly released her.

"Who the hell is that?" Naraku asked as he pointed towards Sesshoumaru who was looking at him with murder in his golden eyes.

The disgust the dog demon had for the staggering man standing in front of him grew tenfold as he noticed Naraku's slurred speech, which was a sure sign that he was inebriated.

"You little bitch do you think you can have one of your friends come and help you? Don't forget your place. Just wait and see." Naraku spat at Kagura who after regaining her breath had stood up.

"Don't you dare threaten me!" Kagura said running a soothing hand over her sore throat. Now that she could breathe, the wind sorceress was staring to feel the other aches and pains Naraku had inflicted upon her.

_`I just hope the bastard didn't break bones_ this time_'_ Kagura thought with a wince as she rubbed her aching left side.

"I will do whatever I want with you. Don't think that you're all powerful because you're hiding behind your boy toy. Remember little girl, you belong to me… and you're not the only one." Naraku hissed as he sent a glare towards one of the side tables under which the shivering in fright Kanna was hiding.

Knowing exactly what Naraku intended to do, the wind sorceress stepped forward in fear before screaming "Don't you dare lay one of your filthy hands on my daughter!"

Tired of looking at the two dark haired demon's confrontation in silence, Sesshoumaru shoved Naraku back into an armchair in the farthest corner of the living room and stood a few feet away from the dark haired demon. The way Sesshoumaru had positioned himself right in front of him, effectively blocked any attempts at running away from Naraku.

Unfortunately for him, Sesshoumaru had a personality trait with which he had a love/hate relationship with: his tenacity. Once he started something, he did everything in his power to see it through the end. In other words, now that he had involved himself in the whole "Kagura mess", he intended to go to the bottom of things.

"Kagura get your things" Sesshoumaru heard himself say, before he even took the time to rationally analyze the situation and find the best course of action.

Ever since he had decided to come to the wind sorceress's rescue, the dog demon had been living the whole situation as an out of body experiment. He heard himself speak, he saw himself act, but he had a hard time believing he really was doing all this.

"_What_?" The wind sorceress exclaimed in surprise. She was more than glad that Sesshoumaru had some to her help, but she was not sure what exactly he had planned. It was one thing to accept a ride home from him, but it was another to let him deal with Naraku.

"This Sesshoumaru will not repeat himself" He simply stated not even bothering to look back at Kagura.

Sesshoumaru was merely improvising his plan one step at the time. All he could deal with for now was to prevent Naraku from getting close to Kagura again and then take the wind sorceress and her child out of the house. He decided he would deal with the rest later on.

It had been Kagura's goal for a long time to get the hell out of Naraku's house, but she had decided to wait until she would have spared enough money. If not she had a back up plan, but she needed two weeks to be able to carry it successfully.

_`Then again seeing the way Naraku went berserk today; I don't think I can afford to stay here one second more. Who knows what might have happened had Sesshoumaru not come in…'_ The wind sorceress told herself a shiver of pure fear running down her spine.

Not wasting anymore time, Kagura hurriedly walked over to the side table under which Kanna was curled into a ball.

"Kanna-chan? It's okay, you can come out now." Kagura murmured tenderly to her daughter as she extended her hand towards her.

Taking a hold of her mother's limb the infant crawled from under the table. Wiping away Kanna's tears, Kagura kissed the top of her downy white head and whispered in her elfin ear "It's okay baby. We're leaving we won't be staying here anymore. We're safe now, I promise."

"Why are you making promises you can't keep Kagura?" Naraku called over from the other end of the living room.

Ignoring completely his remark and underlying threat, the wind sorceress took a hold of a bag and handed it to her daughter with clear instructions: "Kanna-chan mommy wants you to take this bag and put all you favorite toys inside. All the ones you want to take with you, okay?"

"Why would she need toys for?" Naraku asked unnerved as he tried to get up.

"This Sesshoumaru grows tired of you" The dog demon commented before delivering an unforgiving punch to Naraku's jaw, catching him off guard. The dark haired demon fell limply back in the armchair, completely knocked out.

The wind sorceress turned around in shock and stared at Naraku's limp body, before turning back to her daughter and giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't pay attention to Naraku. Just go get your stuff, okay?"

Nodding in understanding to her mother's request, the little girl walked over to her opened playpen and picked up toys. Hissing at the pain in her sides gave a painful throb Kagura too started gathering her things. Ever since the idea of leaving Naraku's house had sprouted in her mind, she had started preparing herself.

Not wasting any time, the wind sorceress hurried over to the sofa and removed its cushion. From underneath the piece of furniture she retrieved a large backpack. Seeing her gathering her things in a fast and orderly way, Sesshoumaru looked at Kagura with thin silver eyebrow raised in surprise. He had no idea the wind sorceress had been _this_ prepared.

Turning towards the dog demon, Kagura said "I just got to go get food for Kanna in the kitchen, can you keep an eye on her in the meantime?" She knew that she would be able to pack food faster if Kanna did not follow her, but Kagura feared what might happen if Naraku woke up while she was away.

"Be quick" Was all Sesshoumaru answered after he noticed Kagura's nervous gaze straying towards the limp body of Naraku.

Not needing to be told twice, Kagura ran to the kitchen, heedless of the pain in her ribs.

* * *

Well I think you redeemed yourself for being such a jerk before." Kagura told Sesshoumaru trying humor to calm her fear, as the two of them stood in front of the house she used to share with Naraku. In a rush to get away before the dark man awakened, the wind sorceress had just barely taken the time to grab her bag, containing the few belongings she could bring along, and the little money she had manage to spare, before slipping on her winter gear and getting out. She inferred it was a good thing that upon returning "home" she had not taken the time to change Kanna out of her outerwear, which had now gained them some precious time.

"Where will you go?" Sesshoumaru asked before he could catch himself.

_`I have done enough for the witch. She can take care of her life from now on.'_ The dog demon told himself, angry at his display of concern for Kagura.

"I don't know yet, but I'll figure something out. I just need a place to stay for two weeks, that's when I was planning to leave the city anyway" Kagura said. The wind sorceress blushed slightly as she realized she was revealing more to herself to the dog demon than she had intended.

_`What the hell is wrong with me? I know he protected me from Naraku, but still I barely know this guy!'_ Kagura scolded herself. She was at least proud of herself for not letting some of the terror she was feeling slip through.

The wind witch knew she would have to find a place to hide herself for a little time. Kagura was worried because of Naraku. He was a wealthy man with a lot of good connections, and if he were to put his hands back on her… well she rather not think about what he would do to her and her daughter.

"Anyway thanks for _everything_." Kagura said as with a small awkward smile.

_`How do you thank someone for just saving your life?'_ She wondered as she hoisted the huge backpack on her back and reached over to take a hold of her daughter's hand.

To the wind sorceress's surprise, Kanna stepped away from her mother's extended palm and reached over to latch herself on Sesshoumaru's leg. The dog demon looked down at the infant. His golden eyes locked with Kanna's black orbs, the two of them stared at each other in silence.

_`Why is she looking at me like this? I feel like… she's asking me to help her'_ Sesshoumaru thought. Not wanting to deal with the little girl's pleading eyes, the dog demon averted his gaze from Kanna's dark obsidian orbs.

_`I just lost a staring contest against a kid. Pathetic'_ Sesshoumaru scolded himself.

"Kanna, come on let him go. We're leaving. Come on baby hurry up" Kagura said to her daughter. Noticing that contrary to her obedient nature, Kanna had not moved away from Sesshoumaru's leg, the wind sorceress sighed and walked over to the twosome.

"Kanna we have to get going before Naraku wakes up. So let Sesshoumaru be and let's go" The wind sorceress said impatiently.

Kanna turned towards her mother before breathing out a single but definitive word: "No".

Kagura was shocked beyond words. Never before had her nice, sweet and _very_ obedient daughter refuse to do anything she had asked of her.

"Kanna enough of this! Come on let's go!" Kagura commanded as she pried her daughter free from Sesshoumaru's leg. Kanna pouted, but did as her mother told her.

"I'm sorry about that" Kagura apologized sincerely looking at Sesshoumaru. The wind sorceress feared that her daughter had realized some of her helplessness.

Sesshoumaru was sure he was going to regret his decision, but as he took in the pitiful picture of Kagura, her daughter and their bags lying on the snow covered ground was giving, he knew did not really have any other choice.

"You said you did not have a place to stay" he suddenly said to the wind witch. Kagura looked surprised by his inquiry, but did not answer.

_`If Inuyasha saw me, he would be having the fun of his life. The idiot would certainly remark that some of father's…_ compassion _has been passed on to me as well.'_ The dog demon told himself disgust rising inside him."

"Come" The dog demon breathed out as he turned his back to the two demoness.

"Where?" Kagura asked in apprehension.

"To my penthouse" Sesshoumaru answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Ooh I'm sure most of you saw that one coming? No? So Sesshy went against his natural inclining and rescued Kagura and Kanna from Naraku. And it seems that he wants to help them further? What's in store next? Let's see in the next chapter named **Where do we go from here?**


	5. Where do we go from here?

_**Chapter 5: Where do we go from here?**___

__A/N: From now on, I think the chapters are going to be longer.

__**The Freak locked in ur closet**

**Killersupergirl** (Yeah but I do wonder how big the big doggie's 'nice bone' really is.. lol)

**Crimsondawn365 **(LOL! I think there's an epidemic of laziness going on... I'm also having quite a bit of trouble with writing lately, but oh well here's the next chapter)

**Sychotic  
Ngoc Chau  
Inu-midoriko  
Sesshkagufan13  
Yazoo IS Superior  
Jinxy-sama  
Devatron2000  
Kaze Tsukai no Kagura  
ALLheartsOnFraya  
Psycho-pyro-shrink  
Lordofthemostancient soohooclan**

_On  
_

__**Sovereignty (I'm sure Sesshy would agree with you lol!)**

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now… Also I don't own the movie Pretty woman, but I do have the DVD. Ha!

"Talking"  
'Thoughts'

_Sesshoumaru was sure he was going to regret his decision, but as he took in the pitiful picture of Kagura, her daughter and their bags lying on the snow covered ground was giving, he knew did not really have any other choice._

_"You said you did not have a place to stay" he suddenly said to the wind witch. Kagura looked surprised by his inquiry, but did not answer._

'If Inuyasha saw me, he would be having the fun of his life. The idiot would certainly remark that some of father's… _compassion_ has been passed on to me as well.' _The dog demon told himself disgust rising inside him._

_"I see" Sesshoumaru breathed out. He could easily tell that the answer to his question was "no"._

"Come" The dog demon said as he turned his back to the two demoness.

_"Where?" Kagura asked in apprehension._

_"To my penthouse" Sesshoumaru answered as if it were the most natural thing I the world before once more turning around to face Kagura._

Kagura looked at Sesshoumaru as if he had grown a second head. She breathed in deeply, which earned another throb from the bruise in her flank.

_'What is wrong with that guy?'_ She wondered in shock as she looked over Sesshoumaru's cold face.

"Kanna-chan, can you cover your ears for mommy? Just for a few seconds, okay?" Kagura told her daughter while thinking _'I seriously need to learn how to curse less'._

It did not take long for the pale blond infant to obey her mother. She knew that every time Kagura was about to say "bad words" or get really angry at someone and start screaming, then her mother would ask her to cover her ears.

"Okay, now I really appreciate you helping me back there with Naraku and all, but this is going too far. I don't know what idea you have of me, even if I came to you place yesterday, it was because of my shitty job, but I am not the kind of girl who…" Kagura started protesting.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Sesshoumaru interrupted her to ask again with a tired sigh.

Kagura blushed red. She had nowhere to go, but she intended to find a place. She did not want to rely on Sesshoumaru more than she already had. Her crimson eyes strayed downwards when she heard her daughter cough.

_'Damn and I thought that had eased. Looks like I'll probably need to buy cold medicine'_ Kagura thought biting her bottom lip.

Pushing away the problem of Kanna's health for a little while, and deciding to focus instead on the dog demon, the wind sorceress looked straight into his golden eyes.

"Thanks for the concern, but I don't need your help. I will find something" Kagura said, pride and determination burning in her crimson eyes. She had always been an independent and resourceful woman, so she was sure she would eventually manage to find a place to stay until she could go through with her original plan.

Thinking about how everything she had previously planned had been ruined because of the demon standing in front of her enraged the wind sorceress.

_'If Sesshoumaru had not turned me down yesterday, and if he had not gotten me fired this morning, Naraku wouldn't have been pissed off to begin with. Then I would have been able to simply go through with my plan and everything would have been perfect.'_ Kagura thought with a frown.

_'Then again it's not like it's his fault really. It's a miracle Tsubaki didn't fire me before…Not to mention that Naraku would find any reason to attack me, so the fact that Sesshoumaru turned me down yesterday wasn't really a catalyst for what just happened, not that I'd ever admit that to that pompous bastard. In any case what's the worse that could happen if I spent the night over at his place? Had he wanted to chop me down to pieces and store me in his freezer, he would have done so yesterday night, with no witnesses present…'_ Glad to have found a temporary solution, the wind sorceress nodded.

"_IF_ I was to accept, we'd first have to get a few things cleared up . First of all, if you've got some sort of "Pretty Woman" fantasy going on, you better forget all about it. I'm not Julia Roberts and I don't need rescuing." Kagura informed him raising her chin in defiance.

"This Sesshoumaru was not offering any form of _rescuing_" He retorted. _'If not then what was I offering…'_ He wondered confused and even more unnerved by his own behavior.

"Well, I guessed as much, you sure as hell don't look like a knight in shining armor like Richard Gere did. Secondly despite whatever might have happened yesterday, if you lay a finger on me I'll break it." The wind sorceress glared, but to her annoyance only looked up to see Sesshoumaru's golden eyes lit up in an expression akin to amusement. She scoffed at his lack of fear or concern.

"And finally I only need a place to stay for tonight. I have a friend I can talk to tomorrow, I'm sure she'll let me crash at her place" Kagura said. Not wanting to see Sesshoumaru's reaction at her admission of defeat, she crouched down to lower Kanna's hands from her small ears.

"Do not flatter yourself. This Sesshoumaru feels no _attraction_ towards you whatsoever. Not to mention that I did not intend to extend my offer beyond tonight" He informed her with a haughty glance

"So now hat you stated your ludicrous 'laws', have you made your choice?" He asked, trying not to sound as cold as before. The dog demon then unlocked the doors of his car.

The wind sorceress resisted the urge to growl in anger. She eyed the inside of Sesshoumaru's warm looking car.

_'Okay this time he wins. The bastard's right, it's not like I really have any other alternative.'_ The demoness thought as she crouched down to help her daughter settle in the backseat of Sesshoumaru's car. As hard as he tried, the dog demon could not prevent his gaze from drifting towards her backside, which was exposed to him in a nice light as Kagura was hunched over.

_'No attraction? Who am I kidding?'_ He thought to himself letting out a groan of despair.

* * *

"This is so awkward" Kagura muttered under her breath as she stepped into Sesshoumaru's penthouse. The wind sorceress had a hard time believing that just the day before she had come there for her work. She did happily smile at the prospect that she no longer would have to do this _job_. Kagura hated being an escort; every time she was sent out on a job she cursed Naraku.

_'Then again it did tough me up. I lost count of the number of bastards I had to beat up, when they failed to understand that I was only going to accompany them to dinner, and not sleep with them.'_ The wind sorceress's smug smile did disappear when she remembered the way Naraku would repay her tenfold for any blow she had given one of her "clients"_. 'Anyway_ _it's not like I always had the choice or the opportunity to fend these guys off every time'_ she thought feeling a sense of disgust wash over her.

After shaking her head to rid herself of these negatives and scary thoughts, the wind witch pressed a small kiss to the pale blond head of Kanna, and tightened the hold she had on the demon child.

_'Naraku can't touch us anymore we're safe now.'_ The wind sorceress then thought cheerfully. Even if she did not want, she could not help but add _'all thanks to Sesshoumaru.'_

Sesshoumaru sat on his couch and silently followed with his piercing golden eyes the wind sorceress as she walked around his apartment, as if making sure that she was really there. As he looked at the way Kagura's arms were tightly encircling her daughter, Sesshoumaru idly wondered if she was afraid of him or if she suffering from shock due to her altercation with Naraku earlier.

"Witch you can put your child down. I assure you the carpet will not swallow her" The dog demon could not help but remark as he turned on his laptop to check his email.

"I need to feed Kanna. I just have to warm up the food I put together earlier; you do have a microwave right?" The wind sorceress asked her 'host' through clenched teeth, a dark scowl on her face. She really had not enjoyed his earlier jab, but she was grateful for him taking her in for the night, and knew she therefore had to play nice.

Without answering her, Sesshoumaru raised his hand and indicated towards the corridor. The dog demon then started furiously typing up an answer to his brother's email about an advertising campaign for one of their most faithful clients, a soda company.

Rolling her eyes at the way Sesshoumaru was barely paying attention to her, the wind sorceress gently deposited Kanna on the ground, hissing at the pain on her side, before plunging her hand in the backpack she had brought along. She quickly retrieved the dinner she had quickly put together for Kanna before walking towards the kitchen. Kagura was glad that despite the usual lack of food in Naraku's house, she had been able to come up with something for her daughter to eat. After all she was at the time she finished packing, not sure where she would have to spend the night, and making sure that at least Kanna something to eat was a priority for her.

Kagura easily found the kitchen, but could not hold back a gasp of shock as she entered. Despite its beautiful state of the art appliances and spacious counters, the kitchen was a real... mess. After seeing the clutter around the dog demon's living room, she had already guessed that he was not the most organized person, but for someone who loved cooking as Kagura did, seeing the messy kitchen was a pity.

"It's such a waste to have all these great appliances and not even use them…" Kagura trailed off, tracing with the tip of her right index finger the outline of a very expensive looking food processor, settled on one of the kitchen counters. The fact that the appliance still had a price tag on it, had not escaped her keen eye. Shaking her head as she remembered that whatever the dog demon wanted to do with his kitchen was none of her business, the wind sorceress rummaged through the cupboards.

After emptying Kanna's dinner in a plate, and tossing with a grimace in the trashcan the empty Chinese take out boxes preventing her access to the microwave, Kagura heated her daughter's food.

As usual Kanna quickly and without fuss eagerly ate her dinner, which was composed of fish sticks and a side of rice. Not being able to resist Kagura washed the dishes piled up and abandoned in the kitchen sink, shaking her head in dismay.

"You'd think that a guy like him, who looks all clean cut, prim and proper would be less messy…" Kagura hissed as she dried her hands on a kitchen towel.

Turning around to look at Kanna who was looking up at her mother in silence, the wind sorceress simply smiled. She could not remember when had been the last time that she had simply felt this relaxed.

_'I still can't believe we truly escaped Naraku's clutches'_ Kagura told herself with a thoughtful frown. Kanna coughing before yawning loudly shook Kagura out of her straying thoughts.

"Looks like somebody's ready for bed" The wind sorceress said aloud as she scooped up her daughter. She rocked her daughter's small body from side to side and gently hummed.

Feeling the warm and comforting embrace of her mother's arms, and the gentle swaying motion she loved, Kanna did not take long to fall asleep.

"So what are the sleeping arrangements going to be?" Kagura asked her host as she walked back into the living room.

Sesshoumaru looked up at her in silence. The wind sorceress was holding her daughter in her arms. As he took notice of the fact that Kanna seemed to be profoundly sleeping, the dog demon quickly made his decision.

"You can put her in the master bedroom" He said as he moved his laptop from his thighs to the coffee table placed in front of him.

"When you're done" Sesshoumaru called over to the wind sorceress who was retreating towards the bedroom, "I will take a look at your injury" He added pointing towards her left side.

"Oh that it's nothing" Kagura lied. She was in reality really hurt and every simple movement made her feel a throb in her side.

"If there is one thing this Sesshoumaru does not tolerate it is lies" He informed her matter-of-factly.

"Fine, we'll deal with it later on" Kagura said with a tired sigh.

* * *

The dark haired demoness did her best to fight both the blush she could feel coming on her cheeks and the hiss of pain she wanted to let out.

"Do not move" The dog demon warned his guest, as she squirmed slightly.

Unfazed by the sharp glare Kagura was throwing him, Sesshoumaru once more reached towards Kagura's injured flank. With steady hands he slightly hitched up the hem of Kagura's dark red sweater and revealed her pasty soft looking skin to his eager eyes. But just as the male demon wondered how soft the pale texture would feel under his fingers, he hitched her sweater higher and revealed her heavily bruised ribs to his shocked gaze.

_'As I initially thought she is so thin that I can see the outline of her ribs'_ The dog demon thought as he gingerly ran his finger along the shockingly purple bruise on Kagura's fair skin.

Biting her lower lip in order not to cry out in pain at Sesshoumaru's gentle touch the wind sorceress spoke: "See? It's not that bad. I just need some ice and I'll be fine. You know us demons, I'll be healed in no time".

_'Anyway it's not the first time. I'm used to these kinds of injuries'_ Kagura thought as she pushed Sesshoumaru's hands away.

"Maybe taking you to the hospital to get checked would be wiser" The dog demon as she got up from his kneeling position on the floor of his living room.

"No. I'm fine!" Kagura insisted as she covered her bruised skin and sat up on the couch where she had laid down to allow Sesshoumaru to examine her more closely.

"As you wish." Sesshoumaru said with a shrug. _'She probably is afraid of the man responsible for her injury'_ he added mentally. _'Not that she should, I will not let him get to her and…'_ Sesshoumaru stopped himself. He had no idea where his protective thoughts had suddenly come from, but he knew he was going to have to put a complete stop to them.

Glad to have managed to make Sesshoumaru back off, the wind sorceress got to her feet.

"By the way I can't remember if I said it, but you're quite the Good Samaritan. I mean helping me out like that for no reason. Maybe I really was wrong about you." The wind sorceress said with a small smile.

Not wanting to deal with the woman's unwanted gratitude, and realizing that he was hungry, the dog demon started walking towards the kitchen, then remembering that he had a guest for the night, he turned towards Kagura and simply said, still a little confused about his previous thoughts "I am having dinner."

"No thanks I'm fine. I'm tired, so I'll just go to bed" The wind sorceress said. She knew that Sesshoumaru was in an uncomfortable way asking her if she wanted food, so she took pity on him and answered directly instead of making him squirm.

The wind sorceress went over to her backpack and after some rummaging, with a triumphant grin, she fished out two framed pictures.

As Kagura noticed Sesshoumaru's gaze on her, she smiled and answered his unasked question "Kanna likes waking up with pictures surrounding her. For some reasons she loves mirrors and images. She always looks at these two pictures when she wakes up in the morning"

She lifted the two frames for the dog demon's inspection. The frame in her right hand held in a picture of Kagura holding a few days old Kanna in her arms. Sesshoumaru could not help but note how shockingly young the wind sorceress appeared on the picture. The second frame contained a photograph of Kagura with a young and handsome dark haired demon. The unidentified demon had his arm looped firmly around Kagura's small waist, as the wind sorceress was standing on the tip of her toes to plant a tender kiss on the demon's cheek. Despite himself, Sesshoumaru could not help but let his eyes linger on the man longer than necessary.

Noticing Sesshoumaru's interest, Kagura supplied an explanation "He's Kanna's father." Observing the dog demon's surprise Kagura could not help but ask on a playful tone "I know I'm pretty damn amazing, and I can do tons of things, but you didn't think I had her by myself, did you?"

"This Sesshoumaru does not take the time to wonder about such _insignificant_ things" He said bitterly before heading towards the kitchen.

The crimson eyed demoness looked at her host's broad retreating back in surprise, it had been the first time since he had "started helping" her that Sesshoumaru had employed such a biting tone with her.

"Pfft I knew he was a jerk" She mumbled to herself. Deciding not to ponder on Sesshoumaru's inconsistent and unpredictable behavior, the wind sorceress quickly made her way to his bedroom.

After she lay next to her daughter's small warm body, Kagura hitched up the dog demon's soft and warm white comforter over her.

_'This bed is so comfortable and these sheets smell so good, actually...they have his scent, yeah... they smell like Sesshou…'_ The wind sorceress stopped her train of thought snuggling closer in the pristine bed covers. _'I must be really tired to be thinking about those kinds of things'_ She chastised herself.

Realizing how ludicrous her line of thought was, Kagura could not help but laugh, not wanting to wake up the slumbering Kanna, she bit her lip trying to hold her bubbling laughter in.

"Things did go better than I'd expected. My first night of freedom from Naraku… if only the rest of the plan could go on as easily…" She said wistfully before placing one last kiss on Kanna's downy head and closing her crimson eyes.

* * *

_How in the hell did I end up in his situation?_... _Since when does this Sesshoumaru make such impulsive decisions?'_ he wondered as he desperately tried to make himself as comfortable as possible on his couch.

In truth his penthouse contained two guest bedrooms, but Sesshoumaru had converted the only furnished one of the two in a storage room, while the other one was simply used as a library. Had it not been for the fact that he was too lazy, or that he knew that the situation was only for the night, Sesshoumaru would have cleared the bedroom of its boxes and made himself more comfortable by spending the night in the warm and soft bed it contained.

The reason the guest bedroom was even furnished was that Sesshoumaru's penthouse somehow often ended being a safe haven for either Inuyasha or Miroku when one of the two got tangled into some problems or in the young human's case, when he was kicked out by his girlfriend of the moment, which in Miroku's defense had not been happening as often lately...

The dog demon soon realized that the reason for his present lack of comfort was not per say the fact that he was lying on his couch, but rather the idea that a very tempting and equally unnerving wind demoness was sleeping in _his_ bed.

Sesshoumaru dragged a tired hand over his face. _'Why did I even allow this woman into my life? For some reason I feel I am bound to regret this decision sooner or later…. It is of no matter anyway, she will be out in of it in no time. Then I will simply resume things as usual, as they should be.'_ He thought with a shrug.

Glad to have settled his mind, the dog demon closed his golden eyes, and allowed sleep to take him.

**To be continued…**

Sesshoumaru decided to accommodate Kagura for the night? What could happen next? Find out in the next chapter **Different perspectives**, where we will get to know Sesshy and Kagura a little better.


	6. Different perspectives

_**Chapter 6: Different perspectives**___

__A/N: Here's the next chapter, I hope you'll enjoy!

Thank you for taking the time to leave little old me a review:

__**Killersupergirl** (I know but I can understand why she's that thin. I wouldn't eat food at Naraku's house either, wouldn't put it past him to infuse it with miasma or something lol.)

**Crimsondawn365  
Sychotic  
Ngoc Chau  
Inu-midoriko  
Sesshkagufan13  
Jinxy-sama**

**ALLheartsO nFraya** (The mystery of Kanna's daddy will be elucidated… eventually… maybe… if I feel like it lol)

**Psycho-pyro-shrink  
Soojinyeh  
XelaKitsune (x4)**

_On  
_

__**Sovereignty** (Maybe Kagura wouldn't mind looking after Sesshy after all she already is taking care of a baby, what's one more? Lol)

"Talking"  
_'Thoughts'_

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"So come on spill Sesshoumaru. Tell me did you find Kaze?" Miroku could not help but ask with glinting eyes as soon as he sat opposite his friend and boss.

"Keh! As if he'd answer that. Not everyone is as openly lecherous as you are Miroku" Inuyasha said as he crossed his legs over his older brother's expensive mahogany desk; making himself as comfortable as possible in the hard leather chairs facing towards the eldest Takahashi brother.

Sending a murderous glare towards his younger half brother, Sesshoumaru bent over his desk and batted away the inu hanyou's feet.

"If you must know, when this Sesshoumaru left her this morning she was taking a shower." The dog demon blatantly lied relishing with a chuckle the expressions of pure shock displayed on both Inuyasha and Miroku's faces due to his bold statement.

"You mean you slept at her place? I'll be damned." The silver haired half demon said looking at his older half sibling suspiciously.

"No, she spent the night in my penthouse… in my bed" Sesshoumaru said with a half smile as he leaned back making himself more comfortable in his leather bound chair.

_'Some whisky is all I am missing and I would be thoroughly enjoying myself'_ Sesshoumaru thought as he observed Miroku whose eyes were bulging out of his head.

"It seems that still waters do run deep. And I thought you were reformed. I mean by the time Inuyasha and I made it to college you were a campus legend, it was said that Sesshoumaru Takahashi had a different girl at his arm _every single night_. And that you could pick up any girl anytime." Miroku said his eyes shining in envy.

"Keh! Miroku, why are you trying to make it sound all romantic and better? Sesshoumaru was a _man whore_! Geez, he never stayed with a woman long enough to remember her name. Can't remember the number of women who harassed me trying to get his number" Inuyasha muttered scornfully under his breath. _'Not to mention the suspicious sounds coming from his bedroom at night when he'd spend the weekend over at our parent's place. Always wondered how the smug bastard managed to sneak in girls without the old man realizing…'_ Inuyasha thought pursing his lips in disgust and envy.

"This was long ago…" Sesshoumaru said brushing the matter away.

The dog demon was not all that proud of his college years, and was content with his single life at the moment. His one priority was his job and he was happy with that. As soon as his father had died leaving the then fresh out of college Sesshoumaru in charge of the company, the young dog demon had to change his ways. He knew that in order to expand the Takahashi agency and make it one of the leaders in its kind, he had to change his ways and cut down on the women and partying.

"That may be, but it seems you haven't lost your touch even if you haven't been with anyone for a long time. Damn Sesshoumaru I'll do anything teach me, tell me what you did to get a girl like Kaze without having to _pay_. Hell I'll become your disciple, and call you master!" The dark haired human exclaimed with pleading purple eyes, ready to throw himself at his boss's feet.

"Miroku, you would do well not to imply this Sesshoumaru is of the same sort as you. The woman, whose real name is _Kagura_, spent the night _with her daughter_ in my bed, while I slept on the couch." Sesshoumaru explained the situation.

"Feh! I knew something was up. Ever since you inherited of the agency after the old man's death, you've become way too fucking uptight to just pick up some girl. But in any case I don't see the link between you thinking she stole your USB drive and you housing her." Inuyasha said scratching his ear careful of his long claws.

"It is a long story. To make it short, the incompetent fool of a secretary I have was to blame. And when it comes to Kagura, I assisted her in s dangerous situation. She also needed a place to spend the night. As they say the rest is history" After stating this, in a gesture to signify to his brother and friend, that he did not intend to continue the conversation, Sesshoumaru picked up a folder on his desk and started browsing through it.

"So you mean to tell me you helped someone out of pure generosity, without expecting anything in return. You? _Sesshoumaru_? My brother? I don't fucking buy it! Are ya okay? Do you have a fever or something?" Inuyasha said eyeing his brother disbelievingly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Kagura has nothing I could ever want" The dog demon answered without raising his golden eyes from the documents in his hands.

"Oh! I'm not so sure. A beautiful woman like her has many _things_ a man could want…" Miroku trailed off with a smirk,

"Stop your perverted thoughts! Have some fucking respect she's a… _mom_" Inuyasha scolded his best friend.

"So what? I always wanted to be a father. It only means she started working on our twenty children early." Miroku answered wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Disgusting lecher. _Twenty_ children you said? I'm sure Sango who works security downstairs is going to love hearing all about this." Inuyasha teased his human friend.

"How did we get on the subject of my love life when we were discussing Sesshoumaru's?" Miroku asked trying to shift the focus away from him.

"Keh! This sounds so _wrong_, Eww _Sesshoumaru_ actually having a love life, kind of gross if you ask me" Inuyasha said with a smirk. "I do wonder what this Kagura sees in him, she mustn't be that good to be interested in Fluffy-sama…" Inuyasha retorted with a small smirk.

"Based on the memory I have of the delightful evening I spent with her. Kaze, or rather Kagura, is a very beautiful and charming demoness, but she has a mean hook. She punched me when I tried to rub…" Miroku started trying to remember the one time he had employed Kagura as an escort. He had been incredibly bored, and in lack of female company, so he had decided to hire a beautiful lady to have dinner and _more_ with.

Their date had according to Miroku gone on perfectly, but unfortunately for him, Kagura had not at all appreciated his wandering hands, and instead of spending the night with a warm body against his, Miroku had to sleep with a couple of ice cubes pressed against his black eye.

"Enough!" Sesshoumaru roared louder than he had intended. For some reason he could not quite identify, the dog demon was enraged at the idea of his lecherous friend spending an evening by Kagura's side, or worse, that he had dared put his fingers on her.

_'What is this feeling? It seems the woman is getting to me. But it is of no importance, I shall be rid of her soon enough.'_ The dog demon thought angry at himself.

"Leave my office this instant, you have work to do. By the way do not foolishly think that because this Sesshoumaru has yet to avenge myself, means that I forgot about your little ridiculous prank." Sesshoumaru said glaring menacingly at the two quickly retreating men.

Miroku gulped audibly, but kept his mouth shut. On the other hand, putting on a courageous front Inuyasha stared back at his brother "Keh! Bring it on _this Inuyasha_ isn't afraid of the likes of you." The younger brother mocked paraphrasing Sesshoumaru.

"Inuyasha I think we should leave, your brother looks pretty damn pissed." _'And very scary'_ Miroku mentally added as he took a hold of his friend's arm and lead him away from Sesshoumaru's office.

"So what? I'm not afraid! I can take Sessh on anytime and…" Inuyasha complained as his friend dragged him away.

The dog demon waited until the twosome had left before letting out a small chuckle.

_'These idiots…'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a small fond smile as he looked down at the documents scattered and completely out of order on his desk.

Growling in annoyance and once more cursing his incompetent secretary, he tried to make some sense out of the mess in front of him.

* * *

The wind sorceress had been surprised when she had awakened to an empty apartment. Since it was a Monday morning she had guessed that her dog demon host would have to go to work, but the crimson eyed demoness had expected him to tell her by what time he expected her out of his apartment, or give her indications of things he did not want her to do at his place before he left.

Shrugging off her concerns, the wind witch decided to make the most out of the situation. Taking advantage of having Sesshoumaru's apartment all to herself, Kagura made the decision to indulge herself and Kanna in a long bubble bath. After ever since she had laid eyes on the gigantic bathtub in the master bathroom, she could not curb her desire to run herself a long relaxing bubble bath.

To her delight and great amusement, hidden in the back of one of Sesshoumaru's bathroom cabinets, Kagura found a complete set of 'Sublime violet sweet pea' scented bath products.

"So Kanna-chan, do you want to smell like sublime violet sweet pea?" Kagura asked her daughter with a mocking chuckle. Not waiting for her little girl to answer the wind sorceress drew them a bath.

"Who would have guessed Sesshoumaru would have such beauty products…" The crimson eyed demoness asked with a mocking chuckle as she playfully blew bubbles towards her daughter. To Kagura's surprise and delight, instead of remaining passive, Kanna copied her movement and sent a couple of bubbles towards her mother as well.

'Oh wow seems that being out of Naraku's vicinity is doing wonders on Kanna's behavior already.' Kagura thought happily.

* * *

After Kagura finished dressing her daughter, the two of them shared a long relaxing breakfast.

"Time to get productive" The wind sorceress exclaimed before setting her daughter on the living room floor and giving Kanna a coloring book. The wind witch sat on the couch and picked up Sesshoumaru's home phone. She quickly dialed a number she knew by heart and waited for the person to pick up.

"Hello?" Said a female voice coming from the other end of the receiver.

"Yo Yura? It's Kagura" The wind sorceress answered a feeling of relief and happiness spreading through her.

Hearing her friend's voice made it more real to her that she had escaped from Naraku. Kagura had met Yura at Abi's coffee shop, the two of them became friends very fast. It had not taken long for Yura to suspect Kagura was living a nightmare because of Naraku. Her friend had tried several times to help the wind sorceress, but the latter refused to confide completely in her friend and tell her what was _really_ going on. Yura did however manage to make Kagura swear that she would come to her if she ever needed help. Even after the hair demoness had quit her job at the coffee shop, the two women had kept contact.

"What's this number you're calling from?" Yura asked her friend a surprised frown on her face.

"It doesn't matter. Listen and brace yourself, I did it! I left Naraku's shitty house and now Kanna and I we're on our own." Kagura said excitedly.

"Wow! I'm so glad and relieved." Yura said enthusiastically.

"Well we're not out of the woods just yet. The thing is that we need a place to stay… but just for two weeks. And that's when you come in." Kagura explained her plan.

"So if I got it right, you want to crash at my place?" Yura asked.

"Yep. So what do you say? Aren't you in need of two roommates?" The wind sorceress asked on a joking tone, trying to hide her desperate plea.

"I wish I could help Kagura, I really do." Yura said on an apologetic tone." The thing is that I'm out of town right now. And I'm not coming back for at least three weeks" The hair demoness said.

"Oh crap that sucks, for me at least. Then again if you let me in your place, I promise Kanna and I won't mess up anything in your apartment during your absence..." Kagura said with a chuckle.

"In truth I really wouldn't mind letting you stay at my place and all, but the thing is that since I knew I would be out of town for a long time I rented out my apartment to a couple of tourists. I'm really sorry I wish I could help." Yura said regretfully.

"Nah it's okay, I'll figure out something else" Kagura said trying her best to mask her disappointment and worry. She had completely counted on her friend to house her for the next two weeks, and she feared that her newly found freedom would be harder on her than she had previously anticipated.

"By the way, Kagura where are you right now? And what happened with Naraku?" Yura asked, she felt bad and wished to help her friend in any way, even if it meant only being an available ear for Kagura to pour her problems to.

"I was helped by this guy, and I'm saying at his place. Kanna and I were only supposed to stay here for the night… ." Kagura said casting a glance towards her daughter who was dutifully hunched over her coloring book.

"Well this mysterious benefactor might be willing to let you stay at his place longer." Yura said.

"I wouldn't bet on it." The wind sorceress chuckled. "Oh did I forget to mention he tends to be an anti social jerk?"

"That may be, but he's a man… And you know how men are…" The hair demoness trailed off with an amused chuckle.

"Yura. Now that I'm free from Naraku, I am done using my body especially to get things in return …" Kagura said on a saddened tone. The full meaning of her statement was lost to the hair demoness who did not know of Kagura's 'second job.'

"Besides I only have half your cup size, so unlike you I don't think I can rely on my big breasts and sex appeal to get things" Kagura mocked her friend trying to lighten the mood. She knew that to Yura flaunting her usually very plunging necklines to get more tips at work or a few free drinks in a bar was a common practice.

"Aw Kagura you wound me. If you must know it's thanks to my beautiful plastic surgery free, all natural _twins_ that I managed to get a fantastic boyfriend who is taking me right now on a great vacation." Yura said referring to the reason she was currently out of town. "Talking about _men_ and _boyfriends_…" Yura started.

"Yura don't start. The reason why I have to wait two weeks before leaving town is because of _him_" Kagura said sighing.

"Fine fine. I get it. All I'm really wondering is if despite everything, you're still truly in love with him?" The hair demoness said with a tiny sigh.

"Yes! I am" Kagura retorted defensively.

"Is that so? You really didn't sound very convinced to me... . In any case, I think that you should find a way to let your secret benefactor extend your stay at his place. You know something like sweet-talking him or whatever. I still say that breasts will help. Oh and also hair, you've got great hair, so stop putting it up in your stupid grandma buns." Yura said with a mocking grin.

"Ugh you'll never change." Kagura lamented shaking her head softly. "I guess you're right. I could always try to make him let me stay, but he seems to be the loner type. In my opinion it's a miracle he even helped me to begin with" the wind sorceress said looking around Sesshoumaru's stern and bare looking living room.

"Puh-leaze! No man can resist a woman's charms. Just use your talents" Yura assured her friend. "Listen I'm sorry but I gotta go. Call me and let me know how things are going, okay? By the way I'm proud of you and kiss Kanna for me. Bye!"

As she hung up, the wind sorceress could not suppress a small smile from gracing her ruby lips. She knew what kinds of 'talents' Yura advised her of using, but Kagura had another idea in mind.

"Hum I'll just have to show Mr. Ice block that the advantages of letting me stay here outweigh the inconveniences" The wind witch said as she stood up from the couch and looked around Sesshoumaru's living room. "Now where to start?"

**To be continued…**

A/N: What does Kagura have up her sleeve? Will it work? Find out next time in **Extension**.


	7. Extension

_**Chapter 7: Extension**_

A/N: Early update because tomorrow I'll be swamped. I hope you enjoy!

Thank you for taking the time to leave me a review:

**Killersupergirl** (Will Sessh find it in his heart to house the poor Kagura and Kanna? I bet I f Kagura did the puppy eyes look it would work…lol)

**Fullflipgurl** (Sesshy wanted to have some fun at the expanse of Miroku and inuyasha, he would have told the truth eventually. He is an honest man after all, well he is most of the time)

**Sychotic**

**Ngoc Chau**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Jinxy-sama**

**ALLheartsOnFraya**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**Klv** (Yay a new reviewer. Lol the Yura/extension thing was funny, I hadn't noticed it!)

**Sovereignty** (Lol that's a good advice for Kagura, will she implement it?)

**Bre'Auna Kemp** (Aw thanks. I didn't know you were reading this story. I'm so glad, it's nice to hear from you again.)

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

Sesshoumaru ran a tired hand through his long silver hair. With a sigh he punched the elevator call button and quickly stepped in the car as soon as the doors opened. The dog demon was exhausted. He had spent the whole day working on the ad campaign for one of his new clients "B-bags".

When the "B-bags Company" had ditched the former advertising agency they used to work with in favor of Takahashi agency, the dog demon had been ecstatic. "B-bags" was a leading force in their field, and working for them would rank in tons of money and great publicity, not that Takahashi agency was in great need of any of those.

Ever since Sesshoumaru had taken over his father's modest advertising company he had turned it around into one of the best known and most lucrative agencies. The reason for the company's success was almost entirely due to its head. Sesshoumaru Takahashi had a keen eye, great talent, and this coupled with his cut throat management style assured the success of his agency.

For the past years Sesshoumaru and the Takahashi agency had produced successful advertising campaigns one after the other with relative ease, which explained the dog demon's present irritation. As much as he tried, Sesshoumaru could simply not quite seem to produce a successful campaign for "B-bags", and what stressed him the most was the fact that he had to present his ideas to the heads of the advertising division of the company that had hired him in less than a week. Usually getting ideas for a campaign was not hard for Sesshoumaru, but this time the product did not inspire him one bit, so he was really struggling.

Shaking his head, Sesshoumaru decided to clear his mind of his job related worries. The dog demon stopped in front of the front door of his apartment. He breathed in deeply and with a thoughtful frown noticed that both Kagura and Kanna seemed to still be in his penthouse.

_`I left in a hurry this morning I had to get to work early, so Kagura and I did not get to talk beforehand. But I did figure she would have left my apartment by now. What is the witch still doing here anyway?'_ The dog demon wondered as he fished his keys out of his pocket.

Aware that simply standing in front of his apartment door and asking himself about Kagura's motives would not get him any answers, Sesshoumaru unlocked his door and with apprehension entered his own place.

* * *

Kagura was nervous and hated feeling this way. She knew she probably had not much to fear from Sesshoumaru, and therefore berated herself for even allowing worried thoughts to form in her mind.

_`If I survived living all these years with Naraku, I'm pretty sure I can survive a confrontation with Sesshoumaru…'_ She reasoned herself as she sunk on the living room couch.

Her heartbeat suddenly became erratic as he heard the distinct and familiar sound of keys being inserted into the lock of the front door. The wind sorceress breathed deeply, and rived her crimson eyes on the door.

She intended to force herself to put a warm smile on her lips but found that smiling was actually not hard at all. To her surprise, as soon as he noticed the long silver mane of her host, her heart started fluttering and butterflies appeared in her stomach. The wind sorceress fought off a blush as she realized that her reaction was not due to apprehension, but rather to the beautiful image her reluctant host offered as he appeared in her field of vision. Somehow the navy expensive looking suit and pristine white shirt Sesshoumaru was wearing only made his pale face and long silver hair appear even more striking.

_`As he always looked this good?'_ Kagura could not help but wonder, she almost gasped aloud as she realized where her line of thought was taking her. _`I shouldn't think like that. I'm a_ taken _woman. Damn this is all Yura's fault!'_

Sesshoumaru observed with interest the many conflicted emotions he could see painted on Kagura's face: worry, happiness, relief, surprise, or arousal? He was not sure exactly which he had truly seen and which he had imagined.

Deciding not to dwell on the emotions of his `houseguest,' the dog demon took in the new and he had to admit improved appearance of his living room.

"What have you done?" He asked a little harsher than he had intended.

"Oh it's good to see you too. You're home late, Kanna's already in bed" Kagura said as she approached Sesshoumaru a devilish smirk on her red lips.

"Answer my question witch!" The dog demon barked.

"Geez all I did was clean up your mess. You should try being grateful once in a while, I'm sure it would do you tons of good. You know releasing all these negative energies and stuff… Anyway don't just stand there, come in you must be tired" Kagura said as she took a hold of Sesshoumaru's hand.

As soon as her skin brushed his, the dog demon froze. Just like the first time she had touched him, when Kaze had tried to seduce him that first night, he felt a warm tingling sensation spread in him.

`_Miroku was right maybe this Sesshoumaru has gone too long without female company'_ He tried to reason his strange reactions to Kagura's touch. Sesshoumaru was convinced he would have had the same reaction with any other woman.

The dog demon batted Kagura's hand away and glared at her before speaking "You will explain yourself."

"I just thought your place was a mess and I decided to clean it up. It's my way of thanking you for all you've done, that's all" Kagura explained as she pointed towards Sesshoumaru's now clutter free desk.

The dog demon took the time to look around his living room and had to admit that Kagura had done an amazing job. Sesshoumaru was aware that he tended to be a messy person. He simply did not have the time to clean up, sure, he knew he could have hired a maid, but he esteemed he had seen more than his share of house employees for a lifetime while living with his mother. Not to mention that the idea of a stranger poking around his things had never settled quite well with him.

_`How ironic to see that I allowed this witch in my apartment.'_ He thought in dismay at realizing how he was not acting like himself when Kagura's was involved. `_It is not related. I only took pity on her daughter that is all'_ He then added trying to make sense of his surprising behavior.

Without a word, Sesshoumaru walked past Kagura and dropped his briefcase on his desk. A quick glance made him quickly realize that the wind sorceress had not only cleaned up his working area, but had also sorted out his many files in alphabetical order.

_`If only that good for nothing secretary of mine was half as good as Kagura at organizing, my working days would be so much simpler'_ he thought.

"So you showed your gratefulness, now what are you still doing here?" Sesshoumaru asked as he turned around to face his house guest.

"Well… you must be hungry I made dinner. The thing is that I wasn't sure when you were coming back, so the food is a little cold, but I'll just heat it up." The wind sorceress said ignoring the dog demon's question, as she walked towards the kitchen. Her plan was to ask Sesshoumaru to house her longer, and she was sure that having a full stomach would make him more pliant to her case.

"Dinner?" Sesshoumaru echoed very interested as he suddenly noticed how empty his stomach truly was.

* * *

"So is it to your taste? I tried to put something creative together, but it really wasn't easy with only the few things you had in your fridge and your cupboards." Kagura commented as she anxiously looked at the dog demon sitting right across from her on the dinning table.

Sesshoumaru did no comment but he did take another large bite of the dish of oven baked pasta complimented with chicken and mixed vegetables.

"Seriously you had some cans in your cupboards which expiration dates were _way_ passed" Kagura said with a disgusted frown.

"This Sesshoumaru hardly uses this room" He commented in his defense as his golden eyes roamed around the kitchen.

In all honesty, the dog demon hardly even spent any time in his penthouse. He had created a fitting living area adjacent to his office, complete with a bed and bathroom, and therefore could spend days without actually going back to his apartment. The real reason he had even bought the penthouse to begin with was that his banker assured him it would be a sound investment. Not to mention, that living at the top of a thirty story building, just like his expensive sleek black luxury car was quite a nice symbol of his high status in society.

"Yeah I think I did notice that" Kagura mumbled under her breath.

"In any case witch, you have yet to answer my question" Sesshoumaru informed her as he pushed away his empty plate. Noticing Kagura furrowing her brows in confusion he supplied "Why are you still doing here?"

"Oh well I was coming to that. Yesterday I told you that I needed a place to stay for two weeks, and that I had a friend who would be able to take me in… but the problem is that Yura, my friend, is out of town, so I'm still in need of a place to stay." Kagura said wringing her hands in worry.

"How does this have anything to do with you being here?" The dog demon asked staring right into Kagura's eyes.

_`That bastard really is going to make me work for it and make me spell it out. Fine I guess I'll just have to!'_ Kagura thought angrily.

"I was wondering if you'd allow Kanna and me to extend our stay at your place. Only for two weeks, then we'll leave the city. If we were to stay at your place, you wouldn't even realize we're here. I promise. Besides I'm saying two weeks, but Shinichi might come for us sooner!..." Kagura said in one breath.

"_Shinichi_?" Sesshoumaru echoed in wonder before he could help himself.

"He was the man I was with on the picture I showed you yesterday night. He's Kanna's father. He'll come and get us, so we can leave the city together and live as a _family_." Kagura explained with sparkling crimson eyes.

Despite himself, the dog demon felt something tighten in his chest at Kagura's revelation. Shaking his head to rid himself of these confusing thoughts, he pondered about letting Kagura and her daughter stay at his place. On the one hand having people around might prove to be bothersome; on the other hand Kagura had showed herself quite useful. The dog demon could definitely get used to coming back home to homemade dinners every night.

_`Besides the witch is only staying here for two weeks, time will go by very fast. And in any case I spend most of my day at work, especially with my troubles with the "B-bags" account I am sure I will not even feel her presence.'_ The dog demon thought running his hand through his silver hair.

Misinterpreting Sesshoumaru's silence for reluctance, Kagura glared at him before speaking "Anyway it's your fault I'm left with no roof over my head and no job. I would have left Naraku's place but I would have made sure I still had a job. So since it's your fault I got fired to begin with and that now I'm broke, you have to house me!" Having spoken her mind, the wind sorceress crossed her arms over her chest in a stubborn stance, a pout on her lips.

Kagura was desperate. Yura had been the only alternative she had counted on, but now that this one was out of the picture, she knew she could only rely on Sesshoumaru. She would do anything to get him to house her, even trying to guilt trip him was not out of the question for her.

Before Kagura had opened her mouth, Sesshoumaru had been about to let her know he agreed to have her and her daughter stay with him. He had to confess that despite himself he thought Kagura's stubborn antics were quite amusing, not to mention how endearing he found the pouty set of her cherry red lips.

_`Based on what the witch's employer said she seemed far from being the perfect employee, therefore I doubt that my presence truly was the sole factor in the loss of her job.'_ He thought his amusement at Kagura's antics growing.

Shaking himself out of his straying thoughts, unnerved by the fact that when he talked to the wind sorceress he simply seemed not to be able to stay focused, the dog demon answered on a cold and plain tone. "The two of you can stay. As long as you do nothing to bother this Sesshoumaru I see no reason why you would not be able to cohabit." He answered. As the dog demon saw a look of astonishment flash through Kagura's eyes he could not prevent a small smirk.

"Now of course we would need a set of ground rules" he said paraphrasing Kagura when she had accepted to spend the night over at his place. "Firstly you and you daughter will not be interfering with my life in anyway. Secondly witch, in exchange of my generosity you will have to contribute to the tending of the penthouse. Lastly as I stated before, I do not tolerate lies and deceit, which includes trying to `guilt trip' this Sesshoumaru, as I do not fall for these kinds of cheap tricks."

Glad to have made his point clear, Sesshoumaru added on a warmer tone "You may sleep in the guest bedroom starting tomorrow."

_'I might as well let her sleep in my bed tonight. I doubt the child and the witch would be able to fit comfortably on the couch'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a small satisfied nod.

Despite whatever people might think of him, Sesshoumaru would simply never throw away in the cold streets a woman and her young child.

_'No matter how insufferable the woman in question might be'_ he mentally added.

After giving his decision, and needing the time to clear his mind, Sesshoumaru was going to stand up and leave, but to his surprise, Kagura leaned towards him and pressed a small kiss to his cheek, right over his demon markings. The warming tingling sensation he had felt earlier at the feeling of Kagura's skin brushing against his was back, but stronger, warmer, almost irresistible this time. Despite himself, the dog demon could not help but notice that if he was to slightly turn his head to the side, and angle his face, their lips would be sure to crash. But before he even had the opportunity to think about carrying out his idea, Kagura pulled away.

_`Why was I having such thoughts?'_ He wondered in shock as Sesshoumaru looked at Kagura's cheerful smile.

"Thanks, I knew you'd be a sensible man. I don't see why I wouldn't be able to comply to your rules, so I guess we have an arrangement." She exclaimed with a mocking chuckle. "Oh and just so you know. I kind of already reorganized the guest bedroom. I put away the tons of boxes that were on the bed. Kanna is sleeping there right now, I just figured you'd like having your bed back" Kagura said sweetly with a shrug. She idly wondered if she had over stepped her bounds and that her forwardness would offend Sesshoumaru.

_`Was the witch already anticipating my compliance? How could she read me so easily we barely know each other'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a frown.

"I see." Was all he said before getting to his feet and dumping his plate in the sink.

"Hey! You know, you could at least wash your plate. Anyway it won't be an issue for long; I swung by the manager's office this afternoon they'll come fix up the dishwasher tomorrow." Kagura said as she put away the rest of the food in the fridge.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow in surprise. He was not sure whether to be angry that Kagura was so easily worming herself in his life or be grateful that she was lending him a helping hand. Unsure about his conflicting emotions, he settled on the second one.

_`As annoying as the witch may be, I have to admit that her abilities are impressive. In fact I have tried to get this old bat of Toutousai to come fix up the dishwasher for some time, but I have been too busy to make sure the senile fool followed through with his promise.'_ Sesshoumaru thought in wonder at seeing Kagura's effectiveness.

"Well anyway good night _roomie_!" Kagura said cheerfully as she waltzed out of the kitchen.

"How are your ribs?" The dog demon called behind her. He knew that telling Kagura he hated for her to refer to him as he `roomie' would only spur her to use it even more, so he stayed his tongue.

"I'm fine." Kagura answered with a grateful smile. She could count on the fingers of one hand the number of time someone had genuinely asked her about how she was feeling. Without another word, the wind sorceress left the room and went straight to bed.

Sesshoumaru finished cleaning the kitchen, and just as he was drying his hands from the dishwater, he was struck with an idea for his campaign.

_`I am sure the people at "B-bags" would enjoy the idea of a multi tasking mother. This indeed would be a fantastic idea for the advertising campaign. Also observing the wind witch would actually prove to be highly beneficial in getting ideas for the campaign. That of course has to be the reason why I even allowed her to remain here anyway'_ The dog demon thought, trying desperately to rationalize the reason why he had allowed the wind sorceress to remain this close to him.

_'Yes, keeping Kagura nearby would be beneficial for me indeed'_ Was Sesshoumaru's last thought as he exited the kitchen and went to get ready for bed.

**To be continued…**

A/N: So Kagura's plan seems to have worked and she managed to worm herself into Sesshoumaru's life. Is everything going to go along nicely? We'll see in the next chapter named **Unforeseen circumstances**.


	8. Unforseen circumstances

_**Chapter 8: Unforeseen circumstances**_

__A/N: Oh my God I am so sorry for being MIA during last week. I'm just very busy right now, but I'll try to make time to write. So once again so sorry.

Thank you all for the reviews, you have no idea how much they encourage me to write!

__**Killersupergirl** **(x2)** (Hum good question. The countdown of the two weeks starts today... and with a bang!)

**Sychotic  
Ngoc Chau  
Sesshkagufan13  
Jinxy-sama  
ALLheartsOnFraya  
Psycho-pyro -shrink  
Devatron2000  
Babi Abe  
The freak locked in ur closet  
Soojinyeh**

**Klv (x2)** (Very good observations. Yep I did do it purposefully, so I guess I do deserve the points. Yay me! Hope you'll like my other writings.)

_On  
_

__**Sovereignty** (Yep Kagura has great 'worming' skills! Lol.)

**Luvininu28** (Aw thanks. Of course Sessh is ONLY interested in Kagura because she could be useful to him. And his job... or is he?)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"  
_'Thoughts'_

__"What are you doing?" Kagura inquired as she plopped herself on the couch next to Sesshoumaru.

Two days had gone by since she had officially moved in with the dog demon, and despite the length of time that had gone by, she still had yet to crack his cold shell, which unnerved the wind sorceress.

"Working" Sesshoumaru answered his eyes still rived on his laptop's glowing screen. He had tried to lace exasperation in his voice, but to his anger could not quite pull it off.

Ever since the wind sorceress and her daughter had started staying with him, the dog demon contrary to his usual habit brought work home with him. Not only that, but to Inuyasha and Miroku's astonishment, Sesshoumaru now also left work earlier than he used to. Little did his friend and brother know that the reason for Sesshoumaru's sudden change in behavior was the woman sitting right next to him.

The problem was not that Sesshoumaru did not trust the woman to stay alone in his apartment, but it rather that to his surprise he quite... _enjoyed_ her company. There was not a dull moment in Kagura's company; whether it was her playful jabs, or the fact that getting on her nerves was irresistibly funny, Sesshoumaru had a lot of fun with Kagura.

_'The only reason I wish to be in the witch's company is that I am still observing her for the ad campaign I am working for'_ Sesshoumaru tried to convince himself every time his mind strayed back to how soft Kagura's skin was, or how beautiful she was... Despite his continued will to forget and deny the attraction he felt for the wind witch, his mind, did not seem to want to let him forget.

"Geez you could try to be more social, it wouldn't kill you, you know!" Kagura told him rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"I thought you said this Sesshoumaru would not _feel your presence_?" Sesshoumaru retorted. "In any case, if you wish to socialize, do so over there and leave me be." He added pointing towards the carpet where Kanna was busy playing with a plastic mirror. The toy was her favorite and the youkai infant could spend hours simply looking at her reflection, or using the mirror to look at her surroundings, or more recently spy on the man that managed to make her mother _laugh_. A feat that very few had accomplished before. The little girl was not sure why, and quite confused, but ever since Sesshoumaru had taken them in, her mother had been so _happy_, which in turn also made Kanna happy.

"You weren't complaining about my presence when you devoured the dinner I cooked tonight" Kagura retorted with a smile. "You could at least entertain me or something, we're roommates after all…"

"This Sesshoumaru is not a pet, and it is therefore not my duty to entertain you" He said vexed. "Besides roommates usually share the rent…" The dog demon added with a small amused smile. For some reason he adored teasing Kagura.

"If I had the money I would give it to you… Anyway all the work I do around here counts. I mean I clean, I cook and all that. It's a lot of work you know, if you tried, you'd know. You shouldn't take me for granted, it's not like I'm your hired help or whatever…" She then trailed off. "In fact you could also be grateful and more appreciative of what I do…"

"Witch." The dog demon interrupted her. "This Sesshoumaru is busy, find something else to entertain yourself with" He added, the small smile tugging at his lips broadening.

"You're no fun!" Kagura retorted as she stood up from the couch and sat down heavily Indian style on the ground right across from her daughter.

"He really is no fun, isn't he Kanna-chan?" Kagura asked her daughter. The little girl looked up at her mother with her big dark eyes. Kanna did not answer nor did she give any indication of having heard her mother. The little girl then raised the little mirror she held and spied on the dog demon. She noticed that instead of focusing on his laptop, Sesshoumaru was looking at her mother. Kanna smiled before letting out a heavy cough.

"You're still coughing baby? Looks like the cold medicine I just gave you wore off. You're looking a little red Kanna. Are you okay? Come over here" Kagura said as she worriedly extended her hands towards her daughter. Kanna obediently stood up and advanced towards her mother.

"Oh my God you're warm!" Kagura exclaimed as she laid her palm on her daughter's forehead. "Hey Sesshoumaru come and touch, and tell me if you think she's burning up too" The wind sorceress asked in a voice laced in worry as she looked back to look at the dog demon.

Sesshoumaru put away his laptop and walked over to the two demoness settled on the carpet of his living room. With a heavy sigh, the dog demon placed his clawed hand over the little girl's pale blond bangs.

"Indeed she seems to be running a slight fever" Sesshoumaru commented.

"Oh crap! What do I do now? Kanna has never been sick like this before" Kagura asked biting her lower lip in worry.

"Do not ask me" The dog demon replied. _'What do I know about children?'_ Sesshoumaru wondered feeling an unfamiliar sense of worry in his chest.

To his surprise he had also enjoyed Kanna's presence during the past few days. The toddler was what Sesshoumaru would deem a perfect child. She was quiet, kept to herself and well behaved. The more time he spent with the two demoness the more he was actually surprised that Kanna was Kagura's daughter. Their coloring was not the only thing that made them polar opposites.

"Kanna do you have a headache baby? Are you hurting anywhere?" Kagura asked her daughter. The little girl shook her head gently before letting out a cough.

"Okay better be safe than sorry. Thankfully tomorrow is Thursday and it's the day the pediatrician is in at the free clinic." Without another word, Kagura took her daughter in her arms and stood up. Then looking down at her host, she added "Hey Sesshoumaru tomorrow before going to work could you give me and Kanna a ride to the free clinic. It's on the outskirts of town."

"The free clinic?" Sesshoumaru echoed, standing too.

"Yeah. They have a free pediatrician that comes and help every Thursday. I want to get Kanna checked up" Kagura explained as she pressed her lips to her daughter's head before hugging her small body closer. "I usually take the bus to get there, but it takes a long time and I want to be there early so there'll be less waiting time."

"Be ready to leave before I head out. I will not allow you to make me late for work" The dog demon simply said as he stood up and retook his place on the couch.

"I wouldn't dream of it Mr. _Workaholic_." Kagura answered on a derisive tone rolling her eyes. "Okay Kanna-chan, since you're not in pain, I think you're pretty okay. Let's put you to bed and cool you down with some cold towels, okay? Come on" The wind sorceress said trying to appease her daughter as she walked towards the guest bedroom.

* * *

"Hey Sesshoumaru wake up!" The dog demon heard someone call. He tried to turn to his side and block out the sound, but whoever was shaking him was very persistent.

"What is it?" Sesshoumaru growled as he opened his eyes. Despite the complete darkness in his bedroom, he could tell that none other than his houseguest Kagura was the one trying to wake him up. The strong feelings of fear and anxiety he could feel coming from her cleared his sleep clouded mind suddenly.

"It's Kanna she's worse than before, she's really burning hot now! And she has a hard time breathing!" Kagura said her voice high pitched in complete hysteria.

"Okay. Let us take her to the hospital, go get her. Hurry." Sesshoumaru quickly instructed before getting up from his bed. The dog demon had always been able to think efficiently under pressure or in a crisis.

Not needing to be told twice, Kagura hurried out of the master bedroom, and rushed to the guest bedroom. She quickly picked up her daughter who was crying silent tears and cradled her against her chest. Kanna was taking short labored quick intakes of air, producing a wheezing sound.

"Don't worry, you're going to be okay Kanna-chan." Kagura soothed the little girl as she picked up their coats and quickly walked to the living room.

The wind sorceress was not surprised to find a fully dressed Sesshoumaru waiting for her. Apart from his unruly long silver haired collected in a braid and the wrinkles on his pristine shirt, no one could have ever guessed that the dog demon had just been awakened in a panic.

"Let's go" Sesshoumaru ordered, sending a worried glance towards the pale youkai child protectively nestled in her mother's arms.

Kagura could only nod, too afraid to even answer with words.

* * *

The wind sorceress hurried towards the private clinic's reception area. She tightened her hold on Kanna and approached the bored looking orderly sitting behind the pristine desk.

"I need someone to look at my daughter. She's not breathing right, and she keeps on coughing... she has a fever too" She let out in one breath.

"Do you have health insurance?" The dark haired woman sitting behind the desk asked nonchalantly as she readjusted the small hat perched on her head.

Kagura was taken aback by her question, but she brushed her surprise aside, getting her daughter help was more important.

"No I don't but…" The wind witch started.

"No health insurance, no help." The young human said with a shrug.

Kagura could not believe her ears. She knew that the reason Sesshoumaru had taken her to this clinic was that it was the closest medical facility to his penthouse. The prospect of driving all the way to the free clinic then having to wait before a doctor would be free to see her daughter did not go well with her.

"I want someone to see my daughter _now_!" Kagura said raising her voice in anger.

"Listen lady. We're a private clinic here. I'm sorry but our regulations are pretty clear. Now, if you want to get help go down to the free clinic. I'm nice I'll even draw you a map to get to the place" The receptionist said ready to call security as she noticed the look of intense furry in Kagura's eyes.

"I've had enough of this shit. All I'm asking is for a doctor to see my daughter and tell me if she's going to be okay that's all!" Kagura roared in outrage.

A light breeze started collecting in the reception area of the clinic, as Kagura's anger swelled. The long and pale fingers of the orderly slowly inched towards the phone resting in front of her. She had seen her share of angry youkai, but the red eyed woman in front of her looked like she could slice her head off any second.

"Calm yourself" Sesshoumaru instructed as he encircled Kagura's arm with his hand. It had not taken the dog demon long to find a parking space, but even though, in the short amount of time the wind sorceress had managed to clash with the woman working at the reception.

"What is the matter?" Sesshoumaru asked looking down at Kanna's tear stained reddened face.

"She won't let us see a doctor!" Kagura screamed whirling around to face the dog demon.

"I told you before. Since you don't have health insurance, you can't get help here." The receptionist repeated herself on a tired tone.

Sesshoumaru could feel the anger in Kagura rising even more, but he could hardly blame her, he too was tired and anxious.

"This nonsense is getting us nowhere." The dog demon commented as he fished out his cell phone from his pocket. He quickly strolled down his contact list, and easily found the number he was looking at.

Kagura's teary crimson eyes looked up at Sesshoumaru with expectation; so far the dog demon had somehow always found a way to make things better, easier for her. She knew she shouldn't rely on him this much, but she could not find another alternative.

"Suikotsu. This Sesshoumaru is at your clinic and encountering difficulty from your reception staff. You would do well to fix it." The dog demon said as soon as the man on the other end of the line picked up his phone. Not bothering to apologize for the late hour, or explain the situation more in detail, the silver haired youkai hung up.

Merely a few seconds later, the phone of the reception rung. The receptionist quickly answered, eager to receive a reprieve from the two scary looking demons standing in front of her.

"Mr. Shichinintai? Yes… no I had no idea! Forgive me sir. But of course!" The receptionist said fear emanating from her in waves. As soon as she hung up, the young woman raised frightened eyes towards the demon couple in front of her.

"Please forgive me… I did not know… I" She started apologizing.

"I don't give a fuck about your apology, get my daughter a doctor now!" Kagura cut her off. She had no idea who the man Sesshoumaru had called was, nor did she care at the moment.

_'I guess it means I owe Sesshoumaru lot more'_ The wind sorceress thought to herself.

"Yes of course!" The orderly said as she paged the doctor on guard.

* * *

"Thank you. I don't know what you did, but thank you" Kagura let out in a deep sigh.

She rolled her eyes to the side to stare at the dog demon who was rigidly sitting in a chair next to her in the waiting area. The doctor had not so kindly asked Kagura to leave the examination room, because every time he merely got close to Kanna, the wind sorceress started panicking. The dog demon had therefore dragged Kagura to the waiting area, where he decided to stay with her.

"I simply am an acquaintance of the director of the clinic." The dog demon brushed off her gratefulness.

_'I am not going to tell her that her daughter being admitted is rather mostly due to the large contributions made by the Takahashi agency to this clinic.'_ Sesshoumaru supplied in his head.

"She will be alright" The dog demon said his eyes tightly closed. For some reason he simply could not seem to stand seeing Kagura being eaten at by worry.

"I don't know about that. Even after she makes a recovery… I mean look at me… I'm completely fucked up. I'm such a screw up! From the moment she was born all I showed Kanna was a shitty life, and now that she's sick, I can't even take care of her properly. If it weren't for you who knows what might have happened… I don't know how I ever could have thought I'd be able to make it on my own. Naraku was right I'm worthless, what kind of mother…" Kagura said eyes rived downwards in shame towards the polished white tiles covering the ground in the waiting area.

"Do not be ridiculous" Sesshoumaru suddenly cut her.

The dog demon would certainly not give to Kagura the 'mother of the year award', but he esteemed she did a better job trying her best to raise her daughter as best she could, than his own mother had despite her great wealth. The only sign that she did consider herself his mother the former Mrs. Takahashi had ever let on, was faithfully awaiting the generous child support checks Sesshoumaru's father sent her every month. Up until he had turned twelve years old and that his father had been granted full custody of him, the only people who had truly raised Sesshoumaru had been an impressive collection of nannies, the dog demon always managed to make quit after a certain length of time. In his father's opinion the lack of love and compassion his mother had always showed him had contributed to his son's cold personality.

_'One thing I can truly admire is Kagura's tenacity. Seeing her this… resigned, as if she would give up is… sad'_ The dog demon could not help but think as he took in Kagura's slumped shoulders and dejected facial expression.

"You are pathetic. There is nothing more disgraceful than giving up, and if you are thinking about it, then maybe you indeed do not deserve you daughter" Sesshoumaru said getting to his feet to stare down at the woman slumped in the uncomfortable plastic chair of the clinic's waiting room.

As soon as she heard Sesshoumaru's remark, Kagura felt a burning sensation race through her.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? You don't know me! You don't know what I've been through. How dare you judge me?" She asked with burning crimson eyes as she too got to her feet. Despite their large difference in size, Kagura did not let herself be intimidated.

_'Now that's more like it. This is the Kagura I like'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a smirk as he took in the wind sorceress's who suddenly seemed inflated with a will to live and fight once again. The dog demon was sure that pushing Kagura would be the way to get her back to her usual fiery self. Her tenacity towards adversity was one of the qualities he enjoyed the most about her.

"I am not pathetic and I can't afford to be, because I'm not alone. I have, Kanna, I have someone to love and someone who depends on me. I know that I may mess up, I may fail, I may need to ask for help, but I won't give up. I won't ever give up on Kanna. I'll give everything and try anything to make sure that she will not have to suffer for my choices and my mistakes...at least not more than she already has." The wind sorceress exclaimed, poking Sesshoumaru's chest, as she struggled to contain her anger. "And what the fuck are you smiling about?"

The dog demon's smile broadened as he looked down at his house guest. "Good answer" He acknowledged with a nod.

"What do you mean?... Were you testing me or some shit like that?" She asked confused and annoyed by Sesshoumaru's reaction.

"You merely needed someone to put some sense back into you. Unfortunately this Sesshoumaru is the only one present and had no other choice but to do so." He explained with a shrug. "I was under the impression you were a determined woman, and am surprised to see how this Naraku managed to shake your confidence…" Sesshoumaru added trying to appease Kagura.

"My father. Naraku is my father, he's the man you knocked out before whisking Kanna and me away" Kagura let out with a humorless chuckle as she smiled trying her best not to blush at Sesshoumaru's praise.

_'I don't think Sesshoumaru knows how much I needed to hear what he just said. He's right, I can't let that bastard of Naraku make me doubt myself anymore. I'm what Kanna needs the most, but anyway I won't be caring for her alone for too long, soon Shin will come for us'_ Simply thinking about the impending return of her love made Kagura smile wistfully. With a tiny smile and a reassured expression on her face, Kagura sat back on the chair she had just left.

"Your father?" Sesshoumaru echoed stunned, as he too sat back. He had a hard time imagining the intoxicated man he had come across in the wind sorceress's house could really be related to the stunning woman sitting next to him. "I believed he was your… boss."

_'How can a man do that to his own flesh and blood?'_ Sesshoumaru wondered disgusted. _'I know all about a parent not loving his or her child, after all mother was no different. She may have used me to get money from father, but she never intentionally hurt me. I believe she is not capable of loving to begin with, otherwise why would father have turned to Izayoi…'_

"Unfortunately being one doesn't prevent from being the other." Kagura said before letting a sad and heavy sigh.

The wind sorceress did not get to expand as Kanna's doctor appeared. Upon seeing him, Kagura quickly stood up, a look of deep worry etched on her face.

"There really is much to worry about. Things looked worse than they truly are." The tall man said attempting a comforting smile. "I expect you daughter to make a full recovery"

"Is she really going to be okay?" Kagura asked tears of happiness and relief shining in her eyes.

"We are still waiting for her last lab results, but I am pretty sure Kanna has pneumonia." Hearing Kagura gasped he quickly added "As I said things look worse than they truly are. I would like to keep your daughter for observation for the remainder of the night. But afterwards as long as she rigorously follows the treatment I prescribe, I expect her to make a full recovery in two weeks or less. You can thank the youkai genetics for this; otherwise it would have taken many more weeks of recovery for a human child, not to mention that the danger would have been higher" the doctor explained with a friendly yet tired smile.

He then extended his hand holding the prescription with all the drugs Kanna would need for her treatment. Before Kagura could take the piece of paper, Sesshoumaru using his greater speed snatched it away from the doctor's hand. The wind sorceress turned towards her host ready to protest, but a shake of the head from Sesshoumaru made her close her mouth.

"You are lucky parents; I can't recall having such a docile patient before. You can go see her, she's asleep, but I'm sure she would appreciate having her mom and dad nearby" With a nod the doctor walked away.

"Give me the prescription; I'll go get Kanna's drugs at the pharmacy downstairs." The wind sorceress ordered wondering if the small amount of money Tsubaki had given her after firing her from the coffee shop would be able to cover Kanna's prescription and some of her medical bills. The wind witch had managed to save some money, but she wished to save it for later on when she would start to live with Shinichi. On the other hand nothing was more important to Kagura than the well being of her daughter; therefore, if the wind sorceress had to use up all the money she had worked hard to hide from Naraku and save up, then Kagura would.

"I'll take care of it" Sesshoumaru said turning around.

Kagura let out a tired sigh "Thanks. I'll find a way to pay you back. I don't know how yet, but I will" She vowed her eyes looking straight ahead determination burning in them.

"You have nothing to offer this Sesshoumaru could be interested in." Without letting Kagura the time to respond, the dog demon quickly walked away.

She looked at his retreating broad back a warm smile on her lips, before heading towards the room Kanna was resting in.

_'I'll find a way to pay you back for all you've done Sesshoumaru Takahashi. And I assure you, it won't be a dinner or cleaning up your apartment.'_ The wind sorceress thought smiling slyly.

**To be continued…**

A/N: That was quite a long chapter. Kanna's illness brought Sesshoumaru and Kagura closer together. Did the dog demon really become nicer to Kagura? The next chapter will be named **Old habits**. I'm sorry to say this, but there might not be any updates next week. I am going to be very busy and won't have time to write up a new chapter, once again very sorry.


	9. Old habits

_**Chapter 9: Old habits**___

__A/N: Yep yep contrary to what I predicted here's the next update, and a day early! From now on I will post a chapter every Thursday (or at least that's my goal).This might not be the most interesting chapter ever, but after this things will get better and better (I promise)!

Thank you all for your so appreciated reviews:__

__**Killersupergirl** (Will Kagura be able to repay Sesshy We'll see.)

**Sychotic  
Ngoc Chau  
Sesshkagufan13  
Babi Abe  
Soojinyeh  
Krad  
Hellina-Bertinelli  
FoxFire7**

_On_

**Sovereignty** (Sessh has so much power over people, but can he tame Kagura?)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"  
'Thoughts'

Kagura, Kanna and Sesshoumaru spent the rest of the night at the hospital. Came morning, they went back to Sesshoumaru's penthouse. As soon as they came back from the hospital, the dog demon indulged in a long hot shower, trying to chase away sleep.

_'To think that my ancestors could spend days without getting any sleep at all. Maybe father was right modern demons have become too soft.'_ Sesshoumaru could not help but think with a small frown on his face as he walked towards the kitchen.

"Coffee?" He heard Kagura ask him. The wind sorceress was sitting at the dining room table with a steaming mug cradled in her hands.

"Instead of drinking coffee you should be sleeping" He told her matter-of-factly as he served himself a cup of the steaming dark brew.

"Let me guess this evidence of pure wisdom applies to me and not to you, does it?" Kagura asked in a mocking tone.

"Indeed" Sesshoumaru acknowledged with a small smile before picking up his cell phone.

"Let me guess again since my deductive powers seem to be at their best today: you're calling your work telling them, you're coming in late? Considering the amount of work you put in I'm sure your boss has got to be a pain in the ass." Kagura said as she watched Sesshoumaru press his speed dial. Sesshoumaru did not acknowledge what she had just said nor did he raise his eyes towards Kagura.

"Yeah yeah just keep on ignoring me" The wind sorceress muttered under her breath as she glared at her host.

"Inuyasha" The dog demon sternly greeted his brother as soon as the latter picked up his phone.

"Keh! You're late bastard." The inu hanyou said barely masking his grinning tone.

"This Sesshoumaru is merely calling to let you know I will not be coming to work today."

"What! Wait a sec, will ya?" Inuyasha asked before the line went silent.

"Okay I'm back, and just so you know Miroku is here too" The younger half sibling said after two minutes of silent.

"Well, how to phrase this simply?... Well, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha and I have noticed quite a change in your demeanor lately. Instead of spending the night at the office, you go home _every_ evening, and at a reasonable time too. It also is not a habit of yours not to come to work, are you okay?" The violet eyed human asked his friend and boss in worry.

"My well being is none of your concern." Sesshoumaru remarked dryly.

"Keh! Remember what the old man said before dying. We're supposed to look after each other. Now, be honest, are you gonna kick the bucket or something?" Inuyasha asked his brother.

"Your so eloquently worded worry moves me little brother" Sesshoumaru remarked dryly

"Keh! I ain't worried! I would just like to be warned in advance if you're about to die because then I need to bring my nice black suit to the cleaners, you know for the funeral and all. Since Kago... I mean... I'm sure... I shouldn't wear my usual clothes…" Inuyasha answered a scowl on his face. He cursed under his breath as he noticed how he had almost revealed his nicely hidden secret to his brother.

"The ability you two have of speaking of the most dramatic things in such a careless and light way never ceases to amaze me. Putting that aside, in all honesty Sesshoumaru, you have not been acting quite like yourself lately, care to explain to us why? Could there be a crimson eyed demoness involved? After all you never did tell us what happened to Kagura…" Miroku said slyly.

"Yeah that's right! Her still staying at his place would explain the bastard's strange behavior!" Inuyasha agreed.

"Fools! I simply cannot seem to concentrate properly with idiots like the two of you in my vicinity, not to mention the babbling incompetent fool of a secretary I am stuck with. I simply decided to stay home to work on the advertising campaign for the "B-bags company" Sesshoumaru informed his friend and brother.

"That's right the due date is coming up soon. Keh! You aren't done with it yet?" Inuyasha taunted. His jab was answered with a growl from his older brother.

"Come down you two. In truth I still wonder why they expressively asked for Sesshoumaru to make their campaign? I mean, I would be able to get a better sense of their product since I am…" Miroku started to be suddenly interrupted by his hanyou best friend "A disgusting lecher?"

"Oh I am so misunderstood. Inuyasha you wound me. It's because of these horrible rumors you have been spreading about me that Sango is still so reluctant to go on a date with me!" The violet eyed human lamented.

"This Sesshoumaru has no inclination to discuss your love life. I may be taking the day off, but it does not mean that the two of you should not be working. I shall be back tomorrow" Without another word the dog demon hung up.

"I take it that wasn't your boss." Kagura remarked before sipping some more coffee.

"This Sesshoumaru does not answer to anyone" He stated as if it was the most natural thing.

"In other words you're your own boss. Why can't I say I'm surprised? In truth you don't come across as the type of man to take orders from anyone. "By the way what do you work in?" Kagura asked masking a yawn. She was dead tired, but she knew her anxiety would prevent from getting any sleep. And rather than staying in bed awake, she liked talking to Sesshoumaru better. Somehow the dog demon managed to calm and reassure her like no one else could. The wind sorceress wondered if her host had any idea of the effect he had on her.

"Advertising." He answered with a shrug, daring her to find a retort or spin the information in a mocking way.

"Figures you're quite a convincing person" Kagura remarked with a chuckle. "Are you any good at your job?" She asked.

"The best" The dog demon answered unwaveringly.

"Well aren't we feeling all modest today?" Kagura asked rolling her eyes. Despite her mocking tone, she was however sure that Sesshoumaru was good at his job. The luxurious penthouse he lived was proof enough of his success.

"Wind witch, go to sleep you are not making much sense" Sesshoumaru said feeling faint sense of concern. The dark circles under her beautiful crimson eyes did not go unnoticed by him. The dog demon did frown slightly as he realized what he had just said; he had not intended to let his concern for Kagura slip out of the recesses of his mind..

_'Once again the witch managed to get to me.'_ He thought unnerved barely containing his urge to curse.

"Thank you for your concern" Kagura said as she stood up. The sincere tone she had used, instead of a cynical one made the dog demon suddenly uncomfortable.

The wind witch placed her empty mug in the dishwasher and walked towards the bedroom. "I'll go cheek up on Kanna, it's almost time for her medicine."

As he looked at her retreating form, the dog demon had to force himself not to ask Kagura if she needed help or even once more inquire about Kanna's health, even if he had himself discreetly checked on the toddler not long ago.

_'I am turning into a caring person... disgusting.'_ He thought angrily tightening his hold on the helpless coffee mug he had in his hand.

* * *

"He really is an insensitive macho and a brute! Isn't he?" Kagura asked aloud cursing under her breath as she gently brushed her daughter's hair.

When the wind sorceress released her, Kanna simply observed her mother in silence. She was used to her mother's ranting, so she stayed silent while Kagura dressed her for bed.

"You'd think that he would be more grateful for everything I do for him? But of course Mr. Pompous, almighty Sesshoumaru-sama must be too used to having people wait on him to realize the amount of work I put in. To him grocery shopping is enough contribution! I swear the day this inconsiderate pig will cook dinner for a woman I will stop wearing my hair up" Kagura grumbled.

Ever since her father had started involving her in his escorting business, Kagura had taken to tying her hair up in a constricting bun, she had then decided that once she would be completely free, she would start wearing it down again. And Kagura esteemed that she would really be free once she would be reunited with her lover Shinichi in just a week and a half.

"I worked really hard, and Sesshoumaru-sama didn't even compliment me let alone thanked me! Does he know the kind of effort put into cooking a dinner?" The wind sorceress scoffed.

"Listen to me ranting. I'm talking as if I should care so much about him." Kagura scolded herself before laying her daughter down on the soft bed.

"Anyway why am I even bugging you with this? Good night baby." After a big kiss on Kanna's forehead the wind sorceress left the guest bedroom.

* * *

The dog demon was extremely frustrated. Despite the fact that he had taken some time off from the office, or that he had calmly settled in at home, he was not able to concentrate on his task. Instead of focusing on designing the campaign he kept on discarding any idea he was getting, and adding to his irritation was the fact that his fingers seemed determined to fill his sketching pad with drawings of things, or rather people he would really rather not think of.

_'Why am I drawing_ that _again?'_ Sesshoumaru wondered unnerved as he looked down at the familiar face and figure taking shape under his pencil. In a gesture of annoyance in turned over his pad and fixed his golden stare on the blank page he had uncovered.

The fact that Kagura had been buzzing like a bee around him all day did also seemed to impact his creativity greatly, and in a negative way. He could tell the wind sorceress wanted nothing more than spy on him from a smaller distance, but did not dare to. He was sure that the reason for her reluctance to approach him was the waves of frustrated energy and anger he was emanating. The truth was that his aggravation was not entirely due to Kagura being close to him, but rather because to his regret he paid too much attention to the beautiful demoness living under his roof.

Kagura settled on the living room couch with a magazine, she could not help but steal glances at Sesshoumaru. He had spent most of his day hunched over his desk, deep in thought, at various occasions letting groans or curses of exasperation out. The only time he had stood up from his working area was to eat lunch and dinner, other than that the dog demon had made a pretty good job at completely ignoring Kagura, which she could not stand.

Not able to resist her curiosity anymore, she put down the magazine down and silently walked over to Sesshoumaru. The wind sorceress tried looking over his shoulder but to her surprise saw nothing more than a blank piece of paper.

"Is that seriously all you've been doing all day?" Kagura could not help but remark. She had been observing the dog demon from afar all day long, but to see his sketching pad empty surprised Kagura.

Sesshoumaru had been too deep in thought to notice her presence; therefore, her sudden mocking remark surprised him and made him jolt.

"Witch I warned you before do not disturb me when I am working!" He ordered coldly as he turned around to face Kagura.

"I am extremely bored right now, so even your negative attitude would be a welcome distraction" Kagura said with a roll of her eyes. "So seriously what are working on? I bet it's this big advertising thingy you were talking about on the phone this morning".

"It is none of your concern." The dog demon brushed her aside.

"You never know, I could help you get your creative juices going or something" Kagura said craning her neck, trying to see more of the documents covering Sesshoumaru's desk.

Even if he would never admit it, the dog demon was embarrassed by the item he had been commissioned to advertise; therefore, he really did not want Kagura to lay eyes on any of the documents and research he had gathered. He was sure the wind sorceress would never leave him in peace if she learned about it.

"I am an esteemed professional in my field, and I doubt that _you_ _of all people_ would know more about my work than myself." He said dryly, trying to push her away.

The dog demon wanted, no needed to push Kagura away from him because he was tired of seeing her worm herself into his life and get through his carefully erected barriers with apparent ease.

The surprised and pained expression that suddenly appeared on Kagura's face could not have looked any different if the dog demon had slapped her across the face with all his strength. Her mouth agape in shock, Kagura took a step back.

Sesshoumaru barely held in a growl of annoyance as he noticed the hurt in Kagura's eyes. He wanted to push her away, but he did not want to hurt her. The dog demon turned towards his desk and tried to force the image away from his mind; he could not stand the idea of Kagura hurting, especially due to him.

"That was not what I meant to say… it came out wrong" He grudgingly admitted grinding his teeth in frustration.

"No we both know you said what you meant. It's not like you were wrong anyway" Kagura said on a broken voice as she walked away from Sesshoumaru's working area. "After all I'm sure you went to some fancy university, while I only barely made it out of high school. You're a big shot guy in advertising and I'm just a pathetic escort." Kagura said crestfallen, trying to hide her bruised feelings.

"Witch do not presume to tell this Sesshoumaru what I am thinking." He retorted angrily. In truth he was angry at himself and regretted taking it out on Kagura.

_'Why am I inclined to humor her? In any case my original plan was to use her as inspiration for the campaign, so I might as well make the most of the situation…'_ Sesshoumaru tried to rationalize his need to try to take away the pain he had created in the wind sorceress's deep crimson eyes.

"Actually your experience might be of help" He said looking at Kagura's back, willing her to turn around.

"Yeah right. You don't have to play nice with me. I know you don't like me and you're simply putting up with me and Kanna until we get out of your hair. You're already doing so much for us. You don't need to spare my feelings…I can take a punch, and I know how to give one too." The crimson eyed demoness said still facing away from the dog demon. Despite his awkward apology, she knew she would not be able to stand seeing a condescending or mocking expression on Sesshoumaru's face.

Even if Kagura had tried to sound as casual as possible, the dog demon had been able to tell she had been hurt by his careless remark.

"My company has been hired to advertise a… _diaper bag_. It is a very important account even if the product may not seem this useful and attractive…" Sesshoumaru let out with a sigh.

**To be continued...**

A/N: What is going to happen in the next chapter? How about some bonding in Good impressions. See you guys next Thursday with a more thrilling chapter!

As promised, albeit a bit late, I posted the one shot set in Indecent Proposal's universe, here's the summary:  
_Indecent situation:_ AU Against all odds they formed a family, now ten years later a shocking discovery will turn the Tashio household upside down. Sessh/Kagura and Rin/Kohaku. One shot set in 'Indecent Proposal' universe. Rated T for language and themes.


	10. Good impressions

_**Chapter 10: Good impressions**_

A/N: This is a very long chapter, but I didn't know where to cut it. So I apologize in advance if I'm keeping anyone too late at night ^_^

Thank you for your ever present support; I can't believe the story already has 100 reviews, so once again thanks to my dear reviewers :

**Killersupergirl** (Yep he was an ass, but the question as you pointed out is if he can make it up to our dear wind witch.)

**Sychotic**

**Ngoc Chau**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Babi Abe**

**Krad**

**FoxFire7**

**XelaKitsune (x2 & Congrats on leaving the 100threview!)**

**The freak locked in ur closet**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**ALLheartsONfraya** (Oh I'm glad you're still reading. Kagura and Kanna are growing on poor Sesshy despite his efforts, but can he resist?)

_On _

**Sovereignty** (He he he I like torturing Sesshy, and having him say diaper, it was just too funny!)

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"_My company has been hired to advertise a… diaper bag. It is a very important account even if the product may not seem this useful and attractive…" Sesshoumaru let out with a sigh._

"Are you kidding?" Kagura exclaimed whipping around to face Sesshoumaru. All signs of her previous doubts and hurt were gone, replaced by a bright smile. He was waiting for her to dissolve in laughter as Miroku and Inuyasha had when they has learned about his new contract. Unfortunately for Sesshoumaru, their commissioner, the "B-bags" Company wanted the best to work for them, which the dog demon of course considered to be _himself_.

"You've never had to take a baby out did you? After I had Kanna I was living out of a diaper bag. I mean you can't imagine the amount of things you need to carry with you once you have a kid: diapers, _tons_ of diapers, bottles, formula, water, toys, a blanket, an extra set of clothes, a pacifier and much much more!" Kagura explained a small frown marring her face as she remembered how she had had a hard time stepping into her role of a mother at first.

"So what ideas did you have?" Kagura asked as she once more looked past Sesshoumaru's shoulder to rest her ruby gaze on his desk.

"Emphasizing the aesthetic advantages of the new collection of "B-bags" diaper bags." The dog demon stated simply easily masking that what he had just said was a lie.

He was not going to admit to Kagura that he rather had been thinking about a campaign based on the practical advantages of the baby bag and how it could be useful to an active woman like her.

_`She would never let me live it down if she knew_ she _had inspired my idea'_ The dog demon tried justifying his secretiveness.

"Are you sure you truly are a genius of advertising?" Kagura could not help but tease him.

"Is there something wrong with the principle that women enjoy matching their bags to their outfits?" He asked dryly. Even if it was not his "true idea," and that he himself had previously discarded the suggestion, it still slightly vexed him that Kagura could mock one of his suggestions.

"Yeah well that may be true for a purse, but a _diaper bag_…. Damn, maybe you'll _really_ be needing my help, after all… Okay let's get to work then." The wind sorceress said with a mocking grin.

Sesshoumaru killed a growl of annoyance he could start forming in his throat. The business part of him that had helped him reach the top of his profession knew that Kagura's hands on experience would beat any research material his secretary had compiled.

_`Not that I would be able to trust any information this incompetent Mika has put together anyway.'_ The dog demon thought referring to his interim secretary.

A little voice kept bugging him that the reason he wanted to humor Kagura so much was not for his benefit, but rather because he quite enjoyed seeing the happy smile etched on the wind sorceress's lips.

"Fine, this Sesshoumaru allows you to assist him" He acknowledged, making sure not to ask Kagura for her help directly.

"Well since it's asked so nicely, this Kagura can't find it in herself to refuse…" She trailed off a smirk on her red lips.

_`Maybe I will then be able to pay you back for all you've done after all Mr. Takahashi'_ the wind sorceress thought smugly.

"Okay, so let's get started!" she exclaimed once more eagerly with eyes sparkling in mischief.

* * *

Sesshoumaru served himself another glass of wine and took a generous gulp before setting his glass aside, trading it for his sketching pad. Picking up a pencil he started making strokes on the white empty sheet. The two of them had tackled quite a bit of work, and the dog demon was satisfied with the ideas Kagura had given him.

The wind sorceress put down beside her feet the sample diaper bag Sesshoumaru had been given in order to accommodate himself with the product he was to advertise.

"You know with your previous idea you were basing yourself on the fact that what a young mother would care about would be her physical appearance and how she can match her diaper bag to her clothes, but I can assure you by experience that when you just had a baby your appearance is the least of your worries." Kagura said as she too refilled her glass of wine. She settled herself more comfortably against the pillows of the couch as she sipped her red beverage.

"Seriously your appearance goes downhill for a while after you have a baby. After I had Kanna, I didn't have the time to take care of myself. Every complete meal or shower for that matter was a luxury, and I esteem myself lucky because Kanna was not a very fussy baby. Anyway after I resumed work, the thing I appreciated the most with my baby bag was the storage space. It was useful since I didn't have to use a purse and a backpack wherever I went" Kagura said draining the rest of her glass.

As her ruby gaze strayed towards the bottle of wine resting on the coffee table, the wind sorceress hesitated a second.

_`And fuck it! When was the last time I drank and relaxed? I deserve a break and more wine if I want.'_ She thought as she reached over for the bottle. She could tell that she was already a little tipsy, but she decided to take one last glass...or two.

"You brought your daughter to work with you?" Sesshoumaru could not help but ask. The dog demon was equally repulsed and astonished that Kagura could have brought Kanna along when she worked as an escort and went to see her client.

"Sometimes, not all the time. You've seen my boss and know how things would have turned out if I had made a habit of it" Kagura retorted surprised by the look of shock displayed in Sesshoumaru's eyes.

"What did your clients say?" He asked then. _`Maybe I was wrong about Kagura. I figured she would put her daughter's well being over everything else.'_ The dog demon thought in disgust.

"That she's cute and often asked if she would serve them coffee. Abi would bitch about it, but whatever…" Kagura answered with a shrug drinking more wine.

"You were talking about the coffee shop." Sesshoumaru acknowledged as relief spread over him. He was glad that Kagura had not harmed the young girl peacefully sleeping in his guest bedroom.

"Of course I was talking about my job as a waitress, what else could I be…" The wind sorceress trailed off as she finished the thoughts in her head. The idea that Sesshoumaru could believe she would bring her daughter along when she worked for Naraku enraged her so much, Kagura wanted to beat the dog demon.

"Don't be ridiculous! If you must know I have worked at the coffee shop for years, while I only started this whole "escorting" business a few months ago. It started when one of my father's girls ran away, and since Naraku was a girl short he figured `why not employ my useless daughter?' My first client was some weird human, he wanted me to call him the monk. When he rubbed my backside I think I gave him the most thorough beating he ever received in his life. I doubt that jerk touched any woman afterwards" Kagura said remembering with smugness how she had managed to get rid of Miroku. Her smile did fade when she remembered the way Naraku had in turn beat her for making him lose a client.

The wind sorceress then let out a small chuckle trying to mask her discomfort. _`As much as I like Sesshoumaru I can't tell him the whole truth. Who knows how he might react if I confessed to him what I really used to be, what I truly used to do…'_ She thought sadly, the all too familiar bout of self loathing rising in her chest. The wind sorceress shook her head, trying to ease the painful images away. She did not wish to ruin the relaxing evening she had spent in Sesshoumaru's company.

_`Miroku giving up on women? I wouldn't bet on it…'_ Sesshoumaru thought amused. He had easily found out who her client was based on the short description Kagura had given. Then as what Kagura had just said fully registered in him, he added aloud with a disgusted frown "Your father was really the one to get you involved in escorting..."

"Yeah" Kagura acknowledged.

"I am sure he did not help with your daughter either" Sesshoumaru remarked.

"Hells no. In any case I'd rather die than leave my daughter alone with that bastard for any reason." Kagura let out feeling a rush of anger only thinking about it.

"Then what did you do when you had to work?" Sesshoumaru asked her before running with more force his pencil on the sketching pad nestled in his hands.

"My my Sesshoumaru is the wine making you so talkative?" Kagura asked on a mocking tone. The dog demon looked up from the sketch he was making to stare blankly at the woman sitting next to him. He idly wondered if he was prying too much.

"Anyway it's okay. It's not like I often have the occasion of discussing with an adult…" The wind sorceress said shrugging off Sesshoumaru's inquisitions. "Well there's a very kind old lady who lives right next door to Naraku's house. I've known her since I was a kid myself, her name's Kaede. She usually looked after Kanna when I had to go work at the coffee shop and always when I had to work… in the evenings." The wind sorceress paused in her explanation to gulp down another glass of wine.

"Unfortunately Kaede hasn't been feeling well lately, so I had to bring Kanna with me the day you got me fired" Kagura explained with a small smile on her lips. In a strange sort of way she was more than grateful to Sesshoumaru for making her lose her job.

_`Who knows what might have happened had he not intervened and helped me with Naraku'_ Kagura thought with a shiver of fright.

The dog demon could not help but be amazed by Kagura's strength. He could not imagine how she could have managed to handle her father while taking care of her daughter alone.

"What about Kanna's father. Did he not help you?" Sesshoumaru could not help but ask. Even if the question had been weighing on his mind for a long time, as soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them.

Sesshoumaru paused in his sketching as he stopped to wonder in astonishment _`Kagura is right, why am I this interested in her?_ _What possessed me to ask that?'_ But what surprised him the most was that he was looking forward to the wind sorceress's answer. _`Knowing about the child's father might be helpful for the advertising campaign.'_ He lied to himself.

"He would have loved to help me, but unfortunately Shin is in college right now. He is too far away, so Kanna and I we couldn't really count on him. But things will be different soon. He's finally done with his studies, so he'll get a job and we'll leave the city." Kagura explained a dreamy look of pleasure dancing in her eyes.

The wind sorceress realized how good it felt to be able to talk to someone. Every time she spoke to her friend, Yura and her narcissistic tendencies had a habit of switching the light of the conversation on her. And since Kagura had not dared to reveal to her the extent of what Naraku had made her go through, she could not confide in the hair demoness everything she needed to let out. The only person who she felt really paid attention to what she had to say even if that person did not even understand most of what Kagura said, was her daughter, but unfortunately she could not get feedback from Kanna. Not that Sesshoumaru gave her much feedback either…

"I met Shinichi when he had just finished his freshman year in college; I myself had just graduated from high school. He was spending the summer here with a friend of his. Shin would come to Abi's coffee shop every day and it was love at first sight… We spent the whole summer together; we had such a fantastic time together. Unfortunately life's circumstances have prevented us from seeing each other since that summer. Since Shin is not from around here, he never even got to see Kanna. He was already gone by the time she was born…" Kagura explained feeling the usual ache spreading through her as she realized how much of his daughter's life her boyfriend had already missed. The wind sorceress felt like pouring her heart out to Sesshoumaru made her feel better.

_`As I thought she was_ _so_ _young when she had her daughter. On the other hand I cannot help but think that this Shinichi is dishonest. Had I had a child with a woman whether I lived in the city or not would_ never _prevent me from seeing my woman and my child and help them out of the hell hole they were in'_ The dog demon thought with a frown, pursing his lips in disgust.

_`Maybe Shinichi thought of Kagura more along the lines of a summer affair than anything.'_ The realization made the dog demon feel sorrow for the woman sitting next to him. And what hurt him the most was the fact that Kagura seemed oblivious to her "boyfriend's" disgusting behavior.

"Let's get back to work" Sesshoumaru ordered with a sigh. The two had advanced in the design of the campaign, but had taken a break to open a bottle of wine to the dog demon's suggestion. Seeing how Kagura had been stressed due to Kanna's illness, he wanted to make her relax.

"Hold it!" Kagura retorted before drowning the rest of her wine. "We've been talking about my life for who knows how long. I esteem it's only fair we get to talk about you a bit!"

"What do you wish to know?" Just as the question left his lips, the dog demon could not help a sense of dread from washing over him.

"_Everything_." The wind sorceress answered with a smirk. "Now where to start?" As her eyes glided over the sketching pad in Sesshoumaru's hands she added "Why are you so into your work? I mean it's one thing to be a workaholic but you take it to the next level!"

"My father passed away three years ago and left me and my half brother his advertising agency. I merely wish to make Takahashi agency the best in its field" The dog demon answered with a shrug.

"Aww it's nice to see such filial respect and love. You're lucky, you know how I feel about my dad, and I never even knew my mother. Naraku never bothered telling me… Talking about mothers, where's yours?"

The dog demon could seriously not remember the last time he had actually seen his mother, but since he did not want to talk to her, her absence did not bother him one bit.

Noticing Sesshoumaru's conspicuous silence, Kagura frowned and said "You don't get to pass up any question. Fine is she at least still alive?"

"Yes. Enough with your questioning, let us get back to work" Sesshoumaru ordered.

"Yep as I just said, you're a workaholic. Fine, let me see what notes you've taken so far." Kagura exclaimed as in a quick move she snatched the sketch pad away from Sesshoumaru's hands. As soon as her eyes rested on the page he had been working on, she felt her heart flutter. While she had been talking earlier and drinking her wine, Sesshoumaru had been sketching her.

Kagura smiled as she stared at the accurate reproduction of her. She could not help a small blush from dusting her cheeks as she noticed that on Sesshoumaru's sketch, she looked seductive and sensual. He had drawn her with a mocking glint in her eyes and a seductive smirk on her lips. On the pristine sheet of paper, with a few clever strokes of his pencil the dog demon had shown Kagura as he saw her: a sensual temptress sitting on his couch, observing him from over the rim of her wine glass with mocking eyes.

_`If he managed to make that is so little time, I wonder what he's really capable of doing when given a proper amount of time.'_ The wind sorceress thought impressed.

Eager to see more of the dog demon's great work she quickly flipped through his sketch book. The wind sorceress was shocked to see the great number of sketches depicting her and Kanna Sesshoumaru had drawn.

The dog demon looked at Kagura with annoyance on his face, even if in truth he was feeling trepidation inside. He cursed under his breath as he regretted not taking the time to polish up his sketches.

"These are…" Kagura trailed off her crimson gaze fixed on a sketch of her and Kanna playing on the carpet of Sesshoumaru's living room. She remembered the scenes as the evening before they had had to rush Kanna to the hospital. Kagura had no idea Sesshoumaru had been paying attention to Kanna and her, let alone sketching them.

"Nothing" He supplied snatching the sketch pad away from the wind sorceress's hands.

"No! They're beautiful I love them. Would you mind giving some of them to me? I'll put them in a frame I'm sure Kanna will love them too." Kagura said looking at his clawed hands in awe. She had a hard time believing the rough and strong looking appendages could create such delicate and beautiful works of art.

Sesshoumaru had heard his share of compliments since he had started making art. Be it during his school years when he worked under renowned professors or when he very rarely exhibited his work, but the sincere compliment Kagura had given him, had moved him more than any other.

"Maybe you're actually good at what you do." The wind sorceress added with a soft smile.

The dog demon scoffed "Do not let these get to your head. This Sesshoumaru merely was in need of the model of a mother and child for the advertising campaign. Your presence at the time was convenient" The dog demon said trying to revert to his cold self.

As Kagura was about to utter a sharp retort, she heard her cell phone ring. She went to her purse and found her phone easily. It only took her a few seconds to read the text message she had just received.

To the dog demon's annoyance Kagura suddenly let out an uncharacteristically high pitched squeal. She rushed towards Sesshoumaru and flinging the phone in his face she explained herself "Shin is coming back in _two_ days!"

Exhaling in pure happiness Kagura then pressed a warm and smacking kiss on Sesshoumaru's cheek before walking away from him.

"He's finally coming back! There's so much I have to take care of and I have so little time to get ready" Kagura muttered. "Do you mind if I go to bed, seems like I'll have a long day tomorrow and I want to be rested." The wind sorceress told her host, already halfway to the guest bedroom.

"Do as you wish" Sesshoumaru spat out harsher than he had intended as a retort.

Despite himself the dog demon could not help but feel a surge of jealousy at the way Kagura had so quickly and easily gone from praising him, to jumping up and down at receiving a simple _text_ from Shinichi.

As the dog demon looked down to a sketch he had made of the grateful smile Kagura had given him at the hospital after he had given her hope back, he gently laid his hand over his cheek where the warm feel of Kagura's lips lingered.

_`Why am I reacting this way? I should be happy, I will get rid of the witch and I will be able to resume my life as usual without any interruptions'_

Despite what he wanted to believe, the dog demon knew how much his own thoughts had rung false. Another thing Sesshoumaru was well aware of was how empty his life would seem to him after the departure of Kagura and Kanna.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Just as they were getting closer, Kagura's love is coming back and Sesshy's not so happy about it. What will happen next? Find out in **Preparations**.


	11. Preparations

_**Chapter 11: Preparations**__**  
**_

A/N: My fingers just couldn't stop typing, so here's an extra long chapter. Also I'm sorry if I may have confused you in the past, but here are the ages of the main characters:

Kagura: 22 years old.  
Kanna: 2 ½ years old.  
Sesshoumaru: 26 years old.

Much love to my dear reviewers:  
_  
_

__**Killersupergirl** Here's your update, just like you asked)

**Sychotic  
Ngoc Chau  
Sesshkagufan13  
Jinxy-sama  
Psycho-pyro-shrink  
Foxfire7 br WindWitch00 (Glad to see you're back^_^)  
Flam1ng1c3 (x2 Nice to get a new reviewer)**

**Sesshkagluv** (I love getting new reviewers, and getting long reviews! You addressed so much that I doubt I can answer everything. Who is the true Shin? A clumsy young father or a selfish jerk? Good question. Answers will be given soon, very soon. You are right there is much more to Kagura's past she has yet to reveal. And Sessh? He's just too proud for his own good, and the idea of needing help is foreign to him. That's why he reacted as he did)

**Klv** (Yes do look more into the Sessh/Kagura ship, they're quite fun if you give them a try**.** Very good observations. What is the deal with Shinichi? Things will be explained… eventually.)

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic  
XelaKitsune  
Krad**

_On _**  
**

__**Sovereignty** (Thank for being my one, only and consistent reviewer on Media Miner! Big kisses.)

"Talking"  
_'Thoughts'_

_Disclaimer: _If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

Sesshoumaru looked at his wrist watch and frowned as he noticed it already was seven in the evening, His golden gaze then went up to linger on his plasma TV. The dog demon sighed, a blank expression on his handsome face. He turned towards Kanna who was sitting on the couch next to him, and almost smirked as he noticed that she had a similar bored expression on her face.

_'These children TV programs even manage to bore a child…'_ He thought before letting out a long suffering sigh of pure boredom.

The dog demon wondered how he had let Kagura talk him into babysitting Kanna while she went out for a while. Since she had been absent for quite a long stretch of time, Sesshoumaru inferred Kagura's definition of "a short while" differed from his.

He was pulled out of his reflection as he felt something tugging at his sleeve. Looking down to his left where Kanna was settled, Sesshoumaru was not surprised to find the young girl's fingers clenching the white material of his shirt.

"Hungry" Kanna breathed out looking straight into Sesshoumaru's amber eyes.

He groaned in despair before asking "What do you want to eat?" Kanna simply kept on staring at him in silence.

_'Figures that the damned witch's daughter would not be helpful'_ Sesshoumaru thought in annoyance. _'It is Kagura's fault, she is the one who left me in such a predicament'_ He growled under his breath as he remembered what had happened a few hours before.

***Flashback***

"Aren't you happy Kanna-chan? You're going to meet your daddy" Kagura said with a bright smile. The wind sorceress was sitting at Sesshoumaru's dinning room table, bouncing her daughter on her knees.

"Here" The dog demon grunted as he placed a plate of scrambled eggs in front of the wind sorceress.

"Thank you Sesshoumaru, we really appreciate you fixing breakfast for us" Kagura said before adding "Say thank you too Kanna."

Not wanting to disobey her mother, the little girl quickly complied. Kanna uttered a faint "Thank you" as she stared straight into her host's golden orbs.

"No need to thank me. Witch you need more meat on your bones, so eat." The dog demon said as he eyed the wind sorceress suspiciously.

Kanna looked at Sesshoumaru with a warm glint in her eyes. She did not quite understand what had gone on in the past few days, but what she knew for sure was that she liked spending time with Sesshoumaru.

_'Don't look at me like that. I wish I knew why your mother is acting so strangely this morning. She possibly couldn't be having a hangover it would take a youkai more alcohol to suffer. It must be because she received a text from_ Shinichi' Sesshoumaru thought with a frown of annoyance and disgust as he looked straight into Kanna's dark eyes.

Without saying a word, he nodded towards the two girls and headed towards the door of the kitchen.

"Wait Sesshoumaru!" Kagura called after him. She took her daughter off her knees and settled Kanna on the chair next to her, as she stood up.

"What is it?" The dog demon asked mildly annoyed. He was sure he would be getting to work late, and he was not keen on telling Inuyasha and Miroku the reason for his tardiness was that he had decided to cook breakfast for his two house guests.

_'I still wonder why I even bothered…'_ He thought himself surprised by his own behavior. For some reason he had simply wanted to do something nice for Kagura and take care of her for a change. Sesshoumaru could not shake the feeling that something bad would take place between Kagura and her supposed boyfriend, and he wanted to make her feel good, just in case.

"You're already leaving? You're not getting some breakfast?" Kagura asked concerned.

"No. This Sesshoumaru is already running late" He explained a faint unchecked smile touching his lips as he noticed Kagura's worried frown.

"Okay. I've got a small favor to ask of you. Do you think you could come home early and look after Kanna while a go out for a little while?" Kagura asked trying to sound as sweet as possible.

"Why?" the dog demon questioned raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"My my you've been bitten by the curious bug lately, haven't you? No matter. If you must know, I've got some shopping to do. I want everything to be perfect for Shin's return, so I need to buy a new dress for me and for Kanna too! I know the doc said it was okay, but she's still recovering, so I don't want to take her out too much." Kagura explained a warm smile on her lips.

"Fine" Sesshoumaru simply stated as he resumed his walk towards his front door. To his dismay, he realized that he simply could not brush off Kagura when she was smiling at him so genuinely.

"Damn troublesome woman" He muttered under his breath as he closed the front door behind him.

***End of Flashback***

_'She really is a damned troublesome woman'_ The dog demon thought as he took Kanna in his arms. "Let's see what I can feed you" He added as the two of them walked towards the kitchen. For some reason he felt sure take out from his favorite Chinese restaurant would not fit the recovering little girl…

The two demons never made it to the kitchen, as the sound of the front door being swung opened caught their attention. Sesshoumaru turned around and was not surprised to see Kagura stroll into the living room with shopping bags in arms. As he saw the wind witch, the dog demon deposited Kanna safely on the ground.

"Hey you two. Sorry it took me so long." The wind sorceress said as she walked towards the guest bedroom.

She reappeared empty handed and stopped in front of her daughter. Kagura scooped Kanna in her arms and settled her on her hip.

"Did you have dinner yet?" The pale blond infant shook her head negatively to answer her mother.

"Why am I not surprised?…" Kagura trailed off with a mocking smirk before she took Kanna to the kitchen. Sesshoumaru did not answer her jab and merely scoffed as he tuned his back to the two demoness and resumed his seat on the living room couch.

* * *

"So how do we look?" The wind sorceress asked as she and Kanna walked into the living room. Right after dinner the two of them had disappeared to get ready for as Kagura had said "a small fashion show".

In order to look good for Shin's return, Kagura had used the last of the money Abi had given her when she had fired her, and the wind sorceress really hoped she had made a sound investment. She had gone to the hair dresser and had the natural wavy texture of her hair accentuated because she intended to let her hair unbound, as she knew this was the way Shin liked it the most. She had also purchased a new dress for both Kanna and her. She knew that her daughter would look pretty and cute in the white dress she had bought for her, but the wind sorceress was unsure of the sapphire blue gown she had bought for herself.

"I know what you're going to say: This Sesshoumaru has no interest in your appearance… I would ask another male, but you're the only person available, and I doubt the opinion of Toutousai, the senile manager of your apartment complex would be trustworthy." The wind sorceress said as she planted herself in front of Sesshoumaru, her hands on her hips.

It took the dog demon some time before he could respond, after all he had to make sure his indifferent and cold mask was still in place.

"You are acceptable looking" Sesshoumaru said before averting his gaze from Kagura's very appealing body, to his plasma screen.

The dog demon was not paying attention to the images of the newscast playing on the screen. No, as much as he tried he knew that the image of Kagura in her blue dress would haunt him for a long time. The neckline of the gown left the wind sorceress's left creamy shoulder bare, all the way down to her clavicle. On the other hand the right sleeve was long and ample enough to cover her skin all the way to her elbow, as if tempting him to roll up the blue smooth satin material to reveal her skin inch by potent inch.

The tighter fit of the dress's middle embraced Kagura's narrow waist, generous breasts and round hips perfectly. Even if contrary to the first time he had seen Kagura, her dress today was long enough to cover the smooth skin of her long legs, along with most of her cleavage, the dog demon did not find her any less sexy, if not even more attractive.

More than her appealing curves, the one thing he was sure that did him in was Kagura's hair. He had never seen it unbound, and never could have guessed how long and wavy her luscious dark tresses were. Earlier as he looked at the wind sorceress turning around, the action causing her locks to fly everywhere, Sesshoumaru had wanted to bury his nose in the heavy dark waves.

"_Acceptable_?" Her screech snapped him out of his contemplative daze.

"That's it? Just _acceptable_!" Kagura protested in outrage, fuming as she saw the blank expression on Sesshoumaru's face. She had not expected him to start fawning over her, but she would have enjoyed seeing him react a little more to her improved appearance. The wind sorceress had of course no idea of exactly how much she in truth had affected her host.

"Damn it Sesshoumaru! Do you know how much this dress cost me?... Whatever anyway I should know better than ask fashion advice from an ice block, I thought that at least as a man you could recognize quality when you saw it…" Her frown disappeared s something occurred to her.

"Then again maybe you can't see me as a woman since I'm your friend and all. Yep that would explain it!" She exclaimed glad to have reached a sensible reason for the dog demon's lack of reaction.

"Well come on Kanna-chan, let's leave Mr. Indifferent alone with his TV and put you to bed" Kagura said with a slight pout as she took her infant in her arms and walked towards the guest bedroom.

For some reason she just could not identify, the wind sorceress realized that the fact that she apparently left Sesshoumaru indifferent unnerved her more than she cared to admit.

* * *

_'The witch called me her…_ friend_? We are not friends!'_ The dog demon grumbled in his head as he averted his eyes from the open magazine resting on his knees to look at Kagura who was carefully applying a pale pink colored nail polish on her toes. The wind sorceress was wearing a pair of short shorts which accentuated the curve of her backside. And the way she was leaning forward and contorting her body made it all the more apparent to the dog demon.

Noticing that he was ogling the wind sorceress, Sesshoumaru almost slapped himself.

"Hey Sessh, could you help me with something?" Kagura asked as she turned her head towards the dog demon. Inferring that his lack of verbal response was a mark of compliance she added "I'm right handed, so I'm never able to properly apply nail polish on my right hand…"

"No" Sesshoumaru interrupted her. He could already easily tell what Kagura wanted him to do, and he was not willing to do it.

"Come on it's not that bad. You're an artist, so think of it as painting or something." The wind sorceress protested. Noticing that Sesshoumaru was glaring at her, she tried another approach and smiling seductively said "Friends help each other, don't they?"

"Since when are we friends?" He retorted sharply.

"Let's see. We're living together, you pretty much saved my and my daughter's lives, and we have told each other things I'm sure we never told anyone before… yep that to me would fall under the definition of _friendship_" Kagura said with a small grin before knocking aside the magazine Sesshoumaru had feigned to be reading, and placing her nail polish in his hand. The dog demon did not prevent her from doing so.

"Come on don't look so unhappy, _my friend_" Kagura mocked as the dog demon applied some of the pale color on the nail of her right thumb. "Stop pouting, you're doing a great job, I knew you'd be a natural" Kagura teased him.

Sesshoumaru raised his eyes from his handiwork to glare at the wind sorceress. "This Sesshoumaru does not pout" He informed her dryly.

"Could have fooled me" Kagura said with a shrug. "Besides I'm helping you pick up some useful skills, girls _love_ to be pampered." At hearing Kagura's remark, the dog demon stopped applying the nail polish and raised his head from Kagura's delicate fingers to look angrily at her. Seeing his reaction she merely chuckled.

"Say Sessh? I've been wondering, are you single?" The wind sorceress asked casually, even if to her surprise she was burning to know the answer.

"Yes" He simply answered not moving his eyes from Kagura's nails.

"Why?" The wind sorceress asked in surprise. Her question was greeted by complete silence, so she felt compelled to add "Don't tell me you consider yourself too good to be with anyone… then again it wouldn't surprise me, you're a smug one after all" She added with a shrug.

"You know if you have someone in mind; it's okay don't worry about Kanna and me, you can bring that person home. And just so you know whether it's a she or a he doesn't matter to me, I'm pretty opened minded." The infuriated glare she earned from the dog demon for this remark only made Kagura's amusement grow.

"You wouldn't have to worry, I'll just say I'm your sister or whatever" Kagura said doing her best to control the bubbling laughter due to the dog demon's outraged expression, she could feel building in her throat.

"I know a girl, she's very cute, a little on the gold digging side, but Yura's great. I could introduce the two of you…" Kagura said with a smirk.

"Not interested!" Sesshoumaru snapped.

"Argh! You're not helping, you know that? I only have two days left in your company, and I may be a wind _sorceress_ but even I can't perform _miracles_. I mean it's like in the movies: we meet in a crazy situation, you save me and in return I make your life all better and help you find the love of your life! But due to your anti social tendencies I doubt I'll be able to fulfill my end of the bargain." Kagura exclaimed in faked sorrow.

For fear of making the situation awkward, even if Sesshoumaru wanted to, he did not point out to Kagura that in most such movies, _her_ character would have been 'the love of his life'. He merely continued working in silence, eager to be done with Kagura's nails and be left alone.

As she admired the dog demon's final work, Kagura smiled appreciatively. "If you're ever tired of advertising, you can take manicurist as a new job" She then playfully blew on her nails trying to make them dry faster.

"Do not push your luck witch!" The inu youkai remarked dryly, even if in truth at seeing Kagura's mirthful smile, he could not sound as angry as he intended.

"What luck? I'm serious! Look at your work" Kagura told him as she flung her nails in front of his eyes, wiggling them just to spite him.

"This color does not even suit you" he answered as he gently batted her hand away.

"Really?" She asked interested. What would be more fitting than light pink? Oh do please advise me wise one" Kagura asked a lopsided grin on her lips.

"Long blood red nails" The dog demon answered without flinching. _'The kind of nails that can leave deep welts in a man's back.'_ The dog demon thought to himself, then horrified by his own line of lustful thoughts he mentally added _'Where did that come from?'_

In truth Sesshoumaru knew where exactly his thoughts came from, the fact that he found his 'friend' eye-catching.

_'I don't even know why she occupies my thoughts so much. I should just get her in my bed, and forget all about the witch. Just like I used to do with any woman I found attractive'_ The dog demon thought. _'But it would be different with her…'_ He added before groaning as he realized where his thoughts had taken him.

_'Of course it would be different she is a mother and as much as an incompetent bastard he may be, she does have a boyfriend'_ the dog demon thought before forcing away his thoughts of the witch.

"How strange, I didn't know you did mind reading too. In truth I used to have long nails, but taking care of an infant destroyed that, and I also always wore red nail polish, but Shinichi likes pale colors better" Kagura said thoughtfully.

_'The way he manages to make such a strong headed woman bend over backwards to please his ridiculous tastes is infuriating.'_ The golden eyed demon thought unnerved.

The words were barely out of her mouth that Kagura heard her phone ring. She smiled brightly as she reached over to her purse. Cursing as she was sure rummaging in her bag would ruin the freshly applied color to her nails, the wind sorceress carefully fished out her cell phone. The small smile she had on was wiped off as she read the text she had just received.

"What is it?" Sesshoumaru asked noticing Kagura's dampened expression.

"It's from Shin, he's pushing back his return, a family emergency" Kagura said with a heavy sigh, trying not to sound as down as she truly was.

_'As if he didn't have his family here…'_ Sesshoumaru thought angrily.

"Don't tell me you are truly surprised..." The dog demon said walking towards the wind sorceress. As much as he wanted to damn himself for it, Sesshoumaru could not stand seeing such a sad expression on Kagura's face.

"What is that supposed to mean?" The wind demoness asked with fury in her eyes. She was angry at her boyfriend, and was projecting her feelings on the demon right in front of her.

"What I just said" Noticing confusion painted on Kagura's face the inu youkai elaborated. "The way you foolishly hold on to this man is pathetic. If he has made no effort to see you in the past _three_ years, why would things change now?" Sesshoumaru asked with a shrug.

Kagura glared daggers at Sesshoumaru, as her anger grew, a little wind picked up in the dog demon's living room. Kagura repressed the urge to slap the man sitting in front of her.

"How dare you? You don't know anything about Shin and me!" Kagura protested angrily.

"Indeed nor do I care." the dog demon lied. Fortunately for him, Kagura was not paying enough attention to notice his deceit. Sesshoumaru got to his feet and walked around Kagura, just as he was about to head towards his bedroom, the wind sorceress interrupted him by walking ahead of him, and planting herself in his way.

"Shinichi and I may not be the best couple, but at least we have each other. It's better than being a recluse haughty dog demon who considers himself too good to be with anybody, and who enjoys giving unsolicited life lessons to people!" Kagura snapped barely taking the time to breathe. She realized that she was being mean and unfair to Sesshoumaru, but she was angry and wanted to hurt him.

"I may be alone, but are you any different? Where was your precious man when you needed him? Where was he to protect you from your father? Where was he when you could not afford treatment for your daughter's sickness? Nowhere in sight! It may be hard for you to realize it, but he has abandoned you and your daughter a long time ago, and that is the most despicable thing any man could ever do" Sesshoumaru said. He usually was not a verbal man, when he was irritated he managed to keep it all in, but there was just something about Kagura that made him want to act, to help, to care.

_'How can she just still care about him? Believe in him? Is it what they call love? If it is, then it indeed is a stupid and useless emotion'_ Sesshoumaru thought angry beyond words.

"I told you to stop judging Shin and me. You don't know anything about our situation? How could you anyway? It's quite obvious you had a nice cushioned childhood with rich loving parents." She said bitterly before adding on a scornful tone with shinning teary crimson eyes. "So yeah it's hard for someone with a perfect life to know how _I_ must feel."

"Do not presume to talk about which you know nothing on. Unlike what you may think, I did not have the perfect golden childhood you may believe I had. I was barely older than your daughter when my father left my mother, so yes; I do how it is to grow up without a father, which is what you are making your daughter go through!"

_'At least when father left mother, he made sure to let me know he still cared about me, which is more than Shinichi seems to have done for his daughter'_ Sesshoumaru thought boiling rage running through his veins. The dog demon was not sure where all his feelings of anger and hate were coming from, but he knew that he would need to go out and clear his head, lest he did something he would regret later on.

"Don't bring Kanna into this!" She protested.

"Why not? She is involved. Besides I only do because I care about…" He suddenly interrupted himself. _'I need to get out of here before I say something that I'll regret later on.'_

Kagura was shocked by Sesshoumaru's sudden confession. She had always pictured that someone as rich as him had to have had a happy childhood. She did not know what to tell him. She tried to say something, apologize, but she could not form any words in her mind. Beside the angered expression in Sesshoumaru's eyes scared her.

The inu youkai looked down at the infuriating demoness with fury painted in his golden orbs. Not willing to continue their argument, he turned around and silently walked over to the front door. Completely tuning out the wind sorceress he took his coat and walked out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him.

_'I shouldn't care so much for the witch. I simply need to get a woman tonight, and then I will be able to get over these troublesome emotions inside me. All I feel for her is_ lust_, which can be easily overcome...'_ The dog demon thought as he took the elevator down from his penthouse.

Sesshoumaru fished the keys to his car from the pockets of his coat and headed towards the parking lot of his apartment complex. He knew of a nearby bar, where the women were beautiful, the drinks were good, and the atmosphere even better

**To be continued…**

A/N: Why is it that every time they get close something comes up? What is Sesshy going to do tonight? Is it going to make him forget all about Kagura? And what's up with Shinichi? Find out in the next chapter named **Distractions**.


	12. Distractions

_**Chapter 12: Distractions**_

A/N: Here is the next chapter. Wow number12 already? Thank you to my dear reviewers:

**Killersupergirl** (Will Sesshy listen to your plea? We'll see)

**Sychotic**

**Ngoc Chau**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**Foxfire7**

**Klv** (No worries, I love it when dear readers try to guess what's going to happen next. Will Sesshy find a "lady friend" to spend some time with? Hum find out in the chapter!)

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**Krad**

**DeathAngel69 (x2)**

**School Boy Humor**

**Kaze Tsukai No Kagura**

**Sovereignty** (Lol Sesshy is perverted. And for some reason I could so see Kagura with long blood red nails)

**Be'Auna Kemp** (It's nice to hear from you again. I'm glad you're liking the story so much. I'll try my best not to disappoint you!)

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

_Sesshoumaru looked down at the infuriating woman with murder painted in his golden orbs. Not wanting to start an argument, he turned on his hills and walked over to the front door. Completely tuning out the wind sorceress he took his coat and walked out of the apartment, banging the door closed behind him._

`I shouldn't care so much for the witch. I simply need to get a woman tonight, and then I will be able to get over these troublesome emotions inside me. All I feel for her is _lust_, which can be easily overcome...' _The dog demon thought as he took the elevator down from his penthouse._

_Sesshoumaru fished the keys to his car from the pockets of his coat and headed towards the parking lot of his apartment complex. He knew of a nearby bar, where the women were beautiful, the drinks were good, and the atmosphere even better…_

* * *

It had been a long time since Sesshoumaru had gone out by himself. Becoming the head of his company at such a young age was time consuming and demanding, but even the dog demon managed to once in a while take some time off and have a drink with Miroku and Inuyasha.

After entering the notorious and very select club `The Velvet Room,' the dog demon directly aimed at the bar. After taking a seat on the comfortable plush red stool he called over the bartender.

Knowing a wealthy client when he saw one, the man quickly made his way towards the silver haired demon.

"Good evening sir, what can I start you with?" The bartender asked with a bright smile, already thinking about the generous tips he was going to have.

"Your best Irish whiskey" Sesshoumaru answered. As he saw the barkeep place a glass in front of him, the inu youkai shook his head. "The bottle. No ice." He then added.

_`I will need that much if I am to stop thinking about that damn witch'_ Sesshoumaru thought angrily grinding his teeth.

The bartender merely hesitated for a split second. But as she looked up to stare into Sesshoumaru cold liquid amber eyes, he swiftly placed his most expensive bottle of whiskey in front of the silver haired demon.

* * *

Kagura paced along Sesshoumaru's living room. She halted herself to look up at the digital clock under the plasma TV adorning the wall.

_`He's still not back'_ she thought worried as she realized how late it was. The wind sorceress felt bad about their previous argument. She did not know why she had suddenly lost her temper with Sesshoumaru, after all what he had said was no different than what Yura used to tell her all the time: Shinichi was not worth loving and even less waiting for.

Kagura knew that Sesshoumaru would eventually come home, and she was dead set on waiting for him. She was also sure, or rather hoped the dog demon had just went out for a walk in order to cool his head and would be back and mock her for even worrying over him.

_`That infuriating dog will have a field day when he realizes I worried over him and waited for him'_ She thought with a fond smile as she sat down on the couch and curled into a ball waiting for Sesshoumaru's return.

"You better come home soon" She said aloud trying to comfort herself. For some reason she could not quite shake off, Kagura felt as if her `roommate' was in some sort of trouble. And as time went by the horrible feeling in Kagura's heart kept on spreading to the point that tears of anger and frustration threatened to fall from her eyes.

_`Sesshoumaru, come home to me quickly… and safely'_ She thought to herself as she peered down at her polished nails. With a sigh, tired of staying inactive, Kagura stood up and went over to her bag to retrieve the deep red nail polish she could not help but buying when she had gone shopping earlier in the afternoon.

_'Bah! Even if Shin doesn't like it, Sessh's right, this will look much better on me'_ The wind sorceress thought with a small close lipped smile as she started to apply some color over Sesshoumaru's previous nail job.

* * *

"Now what's a handsome man like you doing by himself?" A husky sultry voice asked behind Sesshoumaru. He did not bother answering and simply refilled his empty glass. To his surprise he realized he had almost reached the mid mark of his whiskey bottle.

_'Why do full blooded demons have to work so damn hard to get drunk?'_ He wondered silently.

"Drinking" The dog demon answered gulping down the content of his glass.

"My my aren't we thirsty? The best piece of advice I ever had was never to drink alone" The woman said as she stepped forward. She sat on the stool right next to Sesshoumaru's right, the action causing the hem of her short dress to hitch up higher and reveal pale creamy long legs. With a well trained seductive gesture the woman then swept her long dark hair out of her eyes, revealing a delicate pale face.

"My name's Emiko" She said smiling with sparkling deep light purple eyes.

"What will you be having miss?" The bartender asked the demoness.

"I will have the same. Whatever…" Emiko trailed off turning her beautiful face towards the dog demon.

"Sesshoumaru" He supplied serving himself yet another glass.

"Yes, I will have whatever Sesshoumaru is having. He seems to have very good taste" She interrupted herself to run a slow and very appreciative look along the entire length of the dog demon. "So I trust his judgment."

"You know, usually only a woman can get a man to drink like that." Emiko said as Sesshoumaru gulped down some more whiskey.

"Most of the time it's because he's trying to forget the woman, but my dear Sesshoumaru, there are _so_ many other ways to forget about someone, and I assure you they can be so much _more_ _enjoyable_ than alcohol" Stating this on a low seductive voice, Emiko, gently rested her warm palm over Sesshoumaru's thigh.

The dog demon raised a surprised eyebrow at her forwardness, but did not proceed to deter her.

"Hum I think our evening is looking so much more interesting now, no?" Emiko asked draining her glass. She then proceeded to make small sweeping motions of her hand over the dog demon's powerful thigh.

"Indeed" Sesshoumaru acknowledged as he refilled her glass with his own bottle.

* * *

"This is infuriating! How can that overgrown moronic dog drive me crazy like that?" Kagura wondered aloud in a strangled scream.

_'Then again, it's normal I feel that way, it's the first time I get into an argument with a friend of mine... .'_ The wind sorceress tried to rationalize her behavior.

Too absorbed by her thoughts, Kagura jolted when she heard the front door of Sesshoumaru's penthouse being thrown open. A frown marred her face when she heard a female laugh. With a growl in her throat Kagura stomped to the front door ready to give Sesshoumaru and his guest a piece of her mind.

"Oh that was unexpected." Emiko said as she caught sight of the fuming Kagura.

_'God don't tell me my night of fun with Sesshoumaru will be interrupted by her...'_ The purple eyed demoness thought pursing her lips in irritation. She quickly reverted her facial expression to a seductive smirk when she turned to face the dog demon.

"You are not in bed?" Sesshoumaru asked as he spotted Kagura.

_'The nerve of that asshole!'_ The wind sorceress thought angrily.

"I was redoing my nails" Kagura spat out sarcastically.

After nodding to the wind witch, Sesshoumaru rested his hand on the small of Emiko's back and stirred her towards his bedroom.

_'What the hell does he think he's doing?'_ Kagura thought shooting a murderous glare to the two demons. She quickly walked over to the twosome and did her best to smile.

"You did not have to wait up" Sesshoumaru informed the wind demoness standing in front of him, effectively blocking his way to the corridor leading to his bedroom. He had tried to speak on a tone dismissive enough to make Kagura understand he wanted her to move and let him and his guest walk past her.

"Of course I did. For all I knew you could be dead lying in a ditch with your organs on their way to being sold on the black market, or you could have become the prey of some gold digging whore" Kagura said resting her eyes on the demoness at Sesshoumaru's arm.

"Excuse me? Who are you calling a gold digging whore?" Emiko bellowed with eyes flashing in fury.

"Feeling concerned when I wasn't even addressing you? Why don't you zip it for a sec'? I'm talking to him, okay?" Kagura said to the purple eyed demoness before turning to Sesshoumaru. She was half expecting the dog demon to look angered, but to Kagura's surprise, he seemed amused.

_'He must be drunk or something...'_ The wind sorceress thought rolling her eyes. _'All the more reason for me to come to that idiot's rescue.'_ She thought smugly as a small plan started forming in her head.

"You know what you did was pretty messed up... you could have gotten Kanna all worried. I mean imagine if she had woken up and hadn't seen you here? The kid's so attached to you!" Kagura scolded her host. The wind witch could not prevent a devilish smirk from spreading on her lips as she started implementing her plan.

"A child? What are you talking about?" Emiko asked confused, raising questioning eyes to Sesshoumaru.

_'This bitch is getting on my nerves; I better get rid of her already'_ Kagura thought a smirk still on her lips.

"Kanna is our two and a half years old daughter sleeping in the bedroom over there. Sessh I'm going to forgive you about tonight, because you know I shouldn't be getting mad at you like that, the doctor did say it wasn't good for _our_ _baby_ when I'm under stress." The wind sorceress stated running a hand over her flat stomach. _'That will be sure to shut the bitch up'_ she thought with a smug smile.

_'What in the hell is the witch doing?'_ Sesshoumaru wondered as he cocked his head to the side eying Kagura with an expression of confusion on his face.

"I don't know what's going on… but I sure as hell don't like it... Sesshoumaru, it was fun, but... You know what, I hate drama, so I'm out of here" Without waiting another second, Emiko left the dog demon's penthouse, slamming the door shut behind her.

"What was that about?" Sesshoumaru asked as peered straight in Kagura's eyes, which were lit in glee.

"Oh no worries, you can thank me later..." She answered with a shrug.

"Thank you?" he echoed in surprise. "And for what?"

"For saving you from that woman. She had 'gold digging slut' written all over her face in bold scarlet letters" Kagura commented. "I was just being a good friend and looking out for you."

"So let me summarize the situation." Sesshoumaru said raising his voice in anger. "It is okay for you to pass judgment on who I have for company and make decisions on my personal life but I am not allowed to make a simple remark on your supposed boyfriend's attitude?"

"Those two situations have _nothing_ in common. Besides you know you brought her here because you wanted me to help you shake her off. Seriously if that wasn't the case, you would have said something when I did my little acting number. Also you would have taken a hotel room, or gone over to her place." The wind witch said stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest.

"Were you not the one saying that it was okay for me to bring a woman over to MY apartment just a few hours ago?" Sesshoumaru questioned.

The wind sorceress esteemed she was ready to help Sesshoumaru find a special woman, but she would be damned if she was going to let her friend being used as a cash cow by some woman she found unworthy of him.

"Yeah a woman, not some girl you picked up at a bar, and don't try to lie to me, she's just got that sleazy vibe going around her. I mean did you see the length, or rather lack of length of her dress? And don't get me started on that cleavage, could breasts be any more fake...?" Kagura scoffed.

"That is quite funny coming from you, after all the first time I saw you, you didn't look any different from Emiko..." Sesshoumaru snapped angrily. The alcohol he had consumed earlier was finally going up to his head, and the dog demon found it harder to filter the words coming out of his mouth.

"What! Those are very different circumstances!" Kagura exclaimed boiling in anger.

"Indeed contrary to what you may think Emiko never asked for _money_..." Sesshoumaru said.

Kagura was so shocked by his words, that she opened and closed her mouth several times without any sound coming forth. It wasn't the first time Sesshoumaru had made an unpleasant remark on her former profession, but this one hurt her more than before, after all she felt that she was only looking out for her friends, trying to protect him.

_'How dare he say something like that? He doesn't know under what circumstances I started working for Naraku, neither does he know what really happen. Ha! As if I had a choice!'_ Kagura thought angrily.

"Wow. Maybe I was wrong when I esteemed us to be friends, seems like you're not able to go past our first meeting." The wind sorceress said struggling to find her voice, a chocked sob escaping her throat.

"Friends? I guess we are. Therefore I should be honest with you I do not care much about the way we met, but rather I should tell you that what unnerves me the most with you is the way you allow people to walk all over you. It is the same with your so called boyfriend or even your father.

"I let people walk over me? That's not true I am an independent women!" Kagura spat angrily.

"Are you really?" He asked rhetorically his head feeling lighter due to his large earlier alcohol consumption. "Would an independent woman sit around and wait foolishly as a well trained pet for her master, or rather in your case poor excuse of a _boyfriend_ " Sesshoumaru said accusingly.

"You don't know what you are talking... you have no idea." Kagura retorted almost chocking on a sob.

_'Who does he think he is? He doesn't know anything. How could he know what I've been through'_ Kagura thought bitterly as she felt sharp boiling anger ripple through her.

"Yeah well rest assured I won't let a condescending annoying jerk of a dog demon walk over me too." With these words of explanation, and not even a backward glance, Kagura stormed towards the guest bedroom. Upon entering she flicked on the light, and merely spared a glance at her deeply slumbering daughter.

"Where are you going, now?" he asked as he looked at Kagura fishing out from a corner of the room the huge backpack she had used when she had escaped from Naraku's house.

The dog demon felt horrible for what he had said, and did not wish for Kagura to leave before the two of them spoke. Unfortunately, he feared that now that he started feeling the effects of the alcohol he had drowned earlier, their discussion would be taking a turn for the worse.

"I don't know, anywhere... away from you since I really, really do not want to be in your presence right now. Nor do I care to be insulted more than I already have."

"Where? You don't have anywhere to go."He stated matter-of-factly.

"Well I'll figure out something. I can get a hotel room or whatever. I'm a big and smart girl! Besides while you were out... _slut hunting_, Shin sent me a text, and told he managed to push away his family obligation. He changed his whole schedule because of Kanna and me. So, you see, you were wrong. I do have someone who _cares_ about _me_" The wind sorceress halted her packing to turn around and face her 'host.'

"I appreciate all you've done for my daughter and me. Really thanks for all your help, but maybe this was all a bad idea to begin with... Obviously we never should have even gotten close... I'll leave and we'll never have to see or think about each other anymore." Stating this, she spun around and resumed packing her stuff. It of course would not take her long, as Kagura did not possess much anyway...

"Stop your nonsense. At least stay for the night... or what is left of it. Besides I doubt you would want to wake your daughter." The dog demon said as he halted Kagura's hand with his. Squeezing her small limb in his larger delicate artist hand.

The wind sorceress stopped her frantic packing and turned to stare at the dog demon's hunched form. She was suddenly surprised by what she saw in her host's eyes. The warmth she saw in his golden orbs, was it concern, compassion, regret? She was not sure, but only feeling as if the usually icy cold dog demon was feeling some kind of remorse over their argument made Kagura rethink the situation.

_'He might be one hell of a jerk, but he's right. It's not fair for me to make Kanna suffer because Sessh and I got into an argument. Besides tomorrow I'll leave with Shin, and I'll never see that bastard dog demon anymore.'_ Kagura thought feeling another bout of sadness wash over her at the realization of their departure.

"Fine I guess you're right... Kanna needs to sleep. I can always leave tomorrow..." The wind sorceress agreed with a sigh. "And after tomorrow, we can just pretend nothing ever happened"

_'Even if that's not what I want...'_ She thought as she felt a lump of tears from in her throat. _'Why am I feeling like this? I'm so sad... it must be all the worry I felt before that's coming out and catching up to me'_ Kagura mentally added.

"Fine I'll let you sleep. We'll talk later..." Sesshoumaru said as he slowly backed away from the guest bedroom of his penthouse, keeping his eyes trained on Kagura, lest the wind witch decided to change her mind and tried to leave.

_'As if I would let you forget this Sesshoumaru so easily...'_ He thought before adding surprised by his line of thought _'It wouldn't do for us to lose our friendship over something so ludicrous.'_

**To be continued...**

A/N: Tension is still running high, but will things get better between them? Will Kagura leave with Shinichi before Sesshy and her manage to make up? We'll see in the next chapter when Shinichi will make his long awaited return. The chapter will be named **Interruption**.


	13. Interruption

_**Chapter 13: Interruption**_

A/N: Lucky chapter number 13. It will mark Shin's return and it will be a long chapter.

Thank you to my dear reviewers:

**Killersupergirl** (And what makes you think they will ever become more than friends?)

**Sychotic**

**Ngoc Chau**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**Foxfire7**

**Klv** (Sessh's behavior can be explained by alcohol and feelings being suppressed for too long. And Shin? You'll have to wait and make your own opinion of him. )

**Krad**

**Kaze Tsukai No Kagura**

**Jinxy-sama**

**Krad**

**Hellina-Bertinelli (x2)**

**The freak locked in ur closet**

**ALLheartsONFraya**

_On _

**Sovereignty** (I'm glad you liked Kagura's crafty little ways)

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

_'Sessh might be one hell of a jerk, but he's right. It's not fair for me to make Kanna suffer because Sessh and I got into an argument. Besides tomorrow I'll leave with Shin, and I'll never see that bastard dog demon anymore.'_ Kagura thought feeling another bout of sadness wash over her at the realization of their departure.

"Fine I guess you're right... Kanna needs to sleep. I can always leave tomorrow..." The wind sorceress agreed with a sigh. "And after tomorrow, we can just pretend nothing ever happened"

_'Even if that's not what I want...'_ She thought as she felt a lump of tears from in her throat. _'Why am I feeling like this? I'm so sad... it must be all the worry I felt before that's coming out and catching up to me'_ Kagura mentally added.

"Fine I'll let you sleep. We'll talk later..." Sesshoumaru said as he slowly backed away from the guest bedroom of his penthouse, keeping his eyes trained on Kagura, lest the wind witch decided to change her mind and tried to leave.

_'As if I would let you forget this Sesshoumaru so easily...'_ He thought before adding surprised by his line of thought _'It wouldn't do for us to lose our friendship over something so ludicrous.'_

* * *

Biting her lip in anticipation and fear of how the climate would be between her and her host, Kagura slowly made her way towards the penthouse's kitchen, where she could hear sounds coming from. She hugged her daughter close to her and with a deep sigh walked inside the room. As much as she was not entirely ready to forgive and forget some of Sesshoumaru's harsh words from the previous night, Kagura still wanted their last day together to go on well.

"I figured you would wake up later" Sesshoumaru said as a form of greeting.

"Yeah well I thought you would too. By your smell yesterday, I felt like you drank enough alcohol to knock out someone for a whole week..." The wind sorceress said with a mocking grin.

"Dog demons have a very high alcohol tolerance" He retorted with a grunt before breaking another egg on the frying pan.

_'Not that I would admit I have a killer headache due to a horrible hangover...'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a groan.

"I couldn't get much sleep..." Kagura admitted as she watched the dog demon who was actively working over the stove. She bounced Kanna on her knees, pretty sure that the little girl's presence was the reason Sesshoumaru and her were acting so civil.

"Too much excitement over the return of your... boyfriend" he supplied the explanation, doing his best not to scornfully spit out the last word of the sentence.

"I guess" Kagura answered with a frown. _'It was more like my conscience torturing me for being such a selfish bitch towards you yesterday night...'_ She mentally added with a wince.

"So what's all this?" She asked on an uncomfortable tone pointing towards the dining table ful lof mouthwatering food. Kagura was trying to lighten up the mood. Feeling the frosty atmosphere between her and Sesshoumaru hurt her more than she cared to admit.

"Since it is the last day Kanna and you are going to be staying here, I decided to cook breakfast for you..." Sesshoumaru admitted. Of course the dog demon did not add that he had also called in sick at work for the first time in his life, which had prompted another interrogation session courtesy of Inuyasha and Miroku. The two were more convinced than ever that the dog demon was terminally ill and on the verge of dying and simply was too stubborn to admit it, of course Sesshoumaru found it unnecessary to undeceive them…

"Have a seat the eggs will be done in a minute." Sesshoumaru instructed as he returned his golden gaze on the scrambled eggs he was cooking.

Kagura sat down with eyes opened wide in astonishment and rested her daughter on her lap. The wind demoness cast a surprised glance at the table littered with plates of pancakes, bacon and a hot pot of coffee.

_'He must have gotten up early in order to cook all this. Too bad my stomach is too knotted, I don't know if I'll be able to eat anything...'_ Kagura thought. Despite the fact that she had assured Yura and Sesshoumaru of the contrary, the wind sorceress felt extremely nervous over Shinichi's return. She was not sure how things would turn out and if he, Kanna and she would manage to be the family the wind sorceress so desperately aspired to be.

_'I think things will turn out well if Shin never finds out about what Naraku made me do... seeing how Sesshoumaru reacted when I only told him part of the truth, I can't imagine how Shin would take it if I confessed everything'_ She thought in fright.

"Well I'll be damned, so you do know how to cook!" Kagura commented with dark eyebrows raised in surprise. She attempted to use humor to make things go smother between her and her friend.

_'Well he can sorta cook...'_ She mentally corrected as she eyed with a smile the odd shaped pancakes, and noticed that some of them were darker than necessary...

_'Well guess what matters is that he made an effort'_ The wind sorceress thought with a shrug and a smile on her lips.

"So is all this food another attempt of adding 'some meat to my bones'?" Kagura asked her host as he placed the generous platter of egg in front of her. She had just paraphrased with great amusement, Sesshoumaru's words the morning he had made eggs for Kanna and her for breakfast.

"No it is rather an attempt at... an apology" The dog demon said as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"You don't have to apologize, I should" Kagura said as she handed over to Kanna her sipping cup full of warmed milk the dog demon had made for her. Kagura then pushed the cream and sugar towards Sesshoumaru, as she recalled he enjoyed his coffee with both.

"I was unfair to you yesterday... or rather this morning. You were right, I have no right to try to influence or comment on your personal life like I did. But do know I had your best interest in mind..." Kagura said as she served food to both her and her daughter. She knew that she had to acknowledge the dog demon's efforts and therefore intended to eat as much as possible.

"It was also wrong for me to insult you in the way I did. Or even to remark upon your... Shinichi's attitude towards you or on your relationship. As you said, I am not a concerned party, therefore from now on I will keep out of it." The dog demon said with a slight sigh.

"Don't worry it's okay. Besides you will stand to be corrected about Shin. He's a wonderful man. Who knows when you get to know each other, the two of you could become friends." At hearing her words, Sesshoumaru marveled that he had been able to keep in a judgmental snort.

"Now let's forget about all this and enjoy our _last breakfast together_..." Kagura said as she scooped a bite of scrambled eggs from her plate. The inu youkai could not prevent a small smug and satisfied smile from appearing on his lips as seeing Kagura eagerly dig into the food he had made for her.

Sesshoumaru eyed her suspiciously over his cup of coffee. _'Or will it be?'_ he wondered concerning Kagura's last comment.

* * *

"_Okay so you have my cell number, if anything happens with Kanna, call me okay? And once again thanks so much Sessh I don't know what I'd do without you..."_

Kagura's last words before leaving for her big reunion date with Shinichi still rung into Sesshoumaru's ears, as he rolled his cell phone between his clawed fingers.

The wind sorceress had worn her sapphire satin dress and had applied light make up before leaving. She had originally wanted to bring along Kanna as she wanted her daughter to meet her father as soon as possible, but she was still fearful of Kanna's health worsening, and Shin had mentioned to her that before seeing his daughter, he wanted to see his woman.

_'Should I do it?'_ The dog demon wondered for what seemed to be to him the hundredth time, as he took the piece of paper where Kagura had written down her number. His golden eyes then glanced towards Kanna. The little girl was obediently sitting on the living room's carpet, and was playing with her mirror. As if she had found out what the dog demon's thoughts were, she turned around suddenly and craned her neck up to stare straight in his eyes.

"Do not look at me like that. I am doing this for your sake too" Sesshoumaru muttered under his breath, trying to reason his action.

_'Indeed I am doing both Kagura and Kanna a favor'_ He added mentally as he picked up the piece of paper and dialed the number.

* * *

"You're as beautiful as I remembered. I missed you so much. To be honest, I still can't believe we're truly here, together." Shinichi said as he once more encircled Kagura in his arms. As she laid her head against his warm chest, Kagura let out a sigh of complete contentment.

The dark haired demon had a very hard time keeping his hands to himself, the three years they had spent apart had almost made him forget how sexy and beautiful his girlfriend was.

_'Oh but I intend to get reacquainted with her body, and make up for lost time soon enough'_ He thought as he eyed her blue satin covered curves lustfully.

"You're going to love it over there. I'm going to work with my dad, so the pay will be good. My parents are going to love you. We'll be happy over together" Shinichi said with a sly smile.

"I heard they also have very good schools in your home city " Kagura said eyes shining in happiness. There was nothing she wanted more than for her daughter to benefit from opportunities she herself had never had.

"Schools? What would you need schools for?" Shinichi asked in surprise, raising a delicate dark eyebrow in surprise.

"For Kanna of course" Kagura answered surprised by her boyfriend's reaction.

"Sir your table is ready" The maÃ®tre d' informed the demon couple as he extended his hand towards the fancy restaurant's dining room. The dark haired demon was forever grateful for the interruption and made a mental note to generously tip the maÃ®tre d'.

_'I knew both Yura and Sessh were wrong about Shin. He wouldn't bring me to such an expensive and fancy restaurant if he didn't care about me.'_ Kagura thought with a delighted smile.

But before the twosome was able to go seat at their table, Kagura heard her phone vibrate in her purse.

"You could have turned it off. After all we said no distractions or interruptions. Tonight is all and only about the two of us." Shinichi growled vexed as he flung a stray strand of black hair out of his beautiful deep hazel eyes.

"Sorry. I just left it on in case of emergencies." Kagura said apologetically. She was about to drop her phone in her purse and forget about the call, but when she recognized the number as being Sesshoumaru's cell phone she quickly flicked her device open.

"Hello. Sessh what's wrong? Is it Kanna?" Kagura asked in a panicky voice, ignoring the exasperated expression in Shin's eyes. She knew that the dog demon would not call her for an insignificant reason, and she already feared the worse.

Shinichi pinched the bridge of his thin nose and sighed heavily, hoping he would be able to salvage his evening with Kagura.

* * *

"You will thank me later on in your life. In the meantime, simply do as I say." Sesshoumaru ordered the little girl resting on his knees.

Kanna raised her dark eyes to stare right in Sesshoumaru's golden amber orbs. The pale blond infant then coked her head to the side as if thinking deeply before forming a small smile on her lips and breathing out a faint "Okay."

The dog demon was at a loss for words, he had never seen Kanna display so much emotion since the day he had met her.

_`There, she at least is more reasonable than her mother.'_ He thought appreciatively as he gently pat Kanna on the head with an uncomfortable "Good girl."

Sesshoumaru was not sure how else to express his satisfaction with the little girl's compliance. He smirked slightly as he thought that Kagura would probably scream at him if she ever found out he had talked to her daughter as one would address a dog...

As he heard the front door of his penthouse being thrown open, Sesshoumaru nodded at Kanna and stood up carrying the little girl in his arms.

"Oh my God, baby I came as fast as I could how are you feeling?" Kagura asked as she discarded her high heeled shoes without care and hurried towards Sesshoumaru and Kanna.

The little girl extended her arms towards her mother and the wind sorceress wasted no time taking her daughter from the dog demon's arms.

"Strange. You said she had a fever, but she's not that warm. Did you give her the medication?" Kagura asked as she ran a tender hand through her daughter's pale locks.

"Yes" Sesshoumaru lied without flinching. He then nodded to Kanna, and the little girl fulfilling her end of the bargain let out a small cough. Kagura kissed her daughter's head as worry ate at her chest.

The dog demon almost smirked in triumph, he could not have asked Kanna to play her part any better. In truth the little girl had never felt better since she had been rushed to the hospital, but the dog demon knew that the only way to `interrupt' Kagura and Shinichi's date was to claim that the toddler had had a relapse. Sesshoumaru wanted to show Kagura her boyfriend's true color, but he could only do so if they were in his presence.

_'I am only getting involved in all this mess because there is nothing more despicable than this man's behavior. He needs to be taught a lesson.'_ The dog demon thought pushing away the feeling of protectiveness he felt for the two female demons standing a few feet away from him.

"She appears to be feeling better" Sesshoumaru said in contained anger, he was not able to lift his piercing golden eyes from Kagura's lips. To his anger, the cherry red lipstick Kagura had carefully applied earlier was smeared, and her lips were swollen, both were clear indications that before or after his call Shinichi had managed to get his share of kissing. A fact which made Sesshoumaru's blood boil.

"Who's that?" Shinichi asked as he stepped forward, nodding his head towards the handsome dog demon standing proudly and too closely to his taste to _his_ woman.

At seeing the attractive dark haired and pale skinned demon come closer, Sesshoumaru could barely contain a growl of annoyance. The dog demon did not like him based on what he had heard about the man before, but at seeing Shinichi's cocky grin, Sesshoumaru realized he downright hated him.

"That's Sesshoumaru; he was keeping an eye on our daughter for me. See Shin, that's our Kanna" Kagura said with a small smile on her lips as she turned around to allow her boyfriend to see her daughter for the first time.

_`She is not his. He has done nothing to deserve her'_ Sesshoumaru thought angrily at Kagura's remark. He did not know where the sudden surge of protectiveness he felt for Kanna and her mother had come from, but seeing as they had never failed him, he had decided to follow his instincts.

"So Shin do you want to hold her…?" The wind sorceress asked shyly as she walked closer to her daughter's father.

"No thanks" he retorted raising his hands to block Kagura's progression towards him. He peered down at his daughter Kagura was holding in her arms.

_'It's strange how I feel nothing...'_ Shinichi thought to himself.

"Don't worry Kanna's two years and a half, you won't hurt her or whatever. It's all safe" Kagura assured him as she took another step towards her boyfriend. She really did not like the look of revulsion that suddenly appeared on Shinichi's face.

"I'm not afraid of hurting her; it's rather that I don't want her to get attached to me or whatever." He explained with a shrug.

Kagura looked at him in shock halting her stride, as if she had received a sudden blow.

"What do you mean?" She asked him suddenly pale and scared.

"Well since she's not coming with us" Shinichi answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

**To be continued…**

A/N: So you finally got to meet the infamous Shinichi. Like him, or hate him? And what did he mean by his remark? Let's find out next time in the chapter, **Reassessment.**

Please go check out my first attempt at a drabble called It should have been you.

_Summary:_ All her life, Kagura had felt like she never belonged. Will it ever change? A Sessh/Kagura short story.


	14. Reassessment

_**Chapter 14: Reassessment**_

A/N: Funny how the chapters in this story are easily twice the length of chapters in my other fanfics. Oh well you guys rejoice for this early update!

You guys all hate Shin so much right now... I got so many reviews, so a thousand thanks to my dear reviewers:

**Killersupergirl** (Here's some more Shinichi in this chapter, just for your enjoyment lol)

**Sychotic**

**Ngoc Chau**

**Sesshkagufan13** (**Congratulations on leaving the 150threview!**)

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**Klv** (What does Shinichi have planed? We will see)

**Kaze Tsukai No Kagura**

**Krad**

**Hellina-Bertinelli**

**The freak locked in ur closet**

**ALLheartsONFraya**

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

**KatieK2885** (Sessh can be quite crafty when he wants to, will he have to intervene further?)

**DeathAngel69**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**BamaBabe11**

**Kiari13**

**Sesshkagluv** (LOL I didn't even make a connection between those two stories. Interesting observations on Kanna and Sesshy's relationship. We will see)

_On _

**Sovereignty** (Wowsomebody's feelingmurderous, or maybe you're feeling protective of Kagura, but will she have a broken heart?)

**Bre'Auna Kemp** (Will your scenario take place? We shall see...)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"_Don't worry Kanna's two years and a half, you won't hurt her or whatever. It's all safe" Kagura assured him as she took another step towards her boyfriend. She really did not like the look of revulsion that suddenly appeared on Shinichi's face._

"_I'm not afraid of hurting her; it's rather that I don't want her to get attached to me or whatever." He explained with a shrug._

_Kagura looked at him in shock halting her stride, as if she had received a sudden blow._

"_What do you mean?" She asked him suddenly pale and scared._

"_Well since she's not coming with us" Shinichi answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

"I'm not sure I understood what you just said" The wind sorceress whispered feeling shell shocked. Afraid that she might not like where the conversation would go, the wind witch deposited her daughter on the ground and hunching over her small form she instructed with a small uncomfortable smile "Kanna-chan, baby can you cover your ears for mommy just for a bit please?"

Seeing the scared look on her mother's face the little girl complied quickly. As if looking for guidance, Kanna turned around to look at Sesshoumaru.

Kanna was not entirely sure she understood what was going on. She knew that her mother was worried, sad and even a little angry but Kanna did not entirely grasp why. The toddler had on the other hand understood that the man her mother had came back with was to her surprise her father. Based on what Kagura had explained to her since her birth, fathers were kind men who were supposed to love you and protect you, but Kanna was not sure that was true. After all she had seen how Naraku had treated his own daughter…

When Kanna looked at her mother she associated her with warmth, comfort and love, when she thought about Sesshoumaru she thought about comfort and protection, not the same kind of protection her mother offered, the kind that meant that if anyone was to hurt her, she knew he would tear them to pieces.

_`Isn't that what a daddy is?'_ She wondered trying and struggling to wrap her mind around what had happened during the past days.

But deciding not to dwell on the issue, Kanna raised her small hands to cover her ears to protect herself from the adults `bad words'. The little girl looked up to stare at the dark haired man Kagura had said was her father. Strangely Kanna felt nothing as she looked at him, albeit maybe curiosity, which was a far cry from the calming feelings she had when Sesshoumaru would look after her. She in fact very much appreciated his silent presence which mirrored her own so much.

Not noticing Kanna's inquisitive gaze, the dog demon was clenching his jaw in anger, but kept his mouth shut. He could not shake off the impression that his earlier suspicion was indeed taking place. He flexed his hand causing his knuckles to crack, the sound resonating eerily.

"You would get rid of _our_ daughter?" Kagura asked in a choking voice.

"Well first of all you got to admit that it's normal for me to ask myself a few questions here. The kid looks more like your friend over there than me." Shinichi stated with a shrug as he pointed a pale clawed tip finger towards Sesshoumaru. The dog demon's eyes shone in pure hatred.

_'It is true and quite better that the child looks more like me than her bastard of a father'_ Sesshoumaru thought an uncanny mix of anger and pride spreading through him.

To his surprise, quite contrary to his usual cool and collected demeanor the dog demon was finding it increasingly more difficult not to melt the dark haired demon's body to a pile of vile goo with a well calculated swipe of his poison claws. Sesshoumaru was even sure he would be able to cut down Shinichi to pieces too fast for Kanna to even realize what had just took place, after all it wasn't his goal to traumatize the young child and condemn her to years of therapy...

Kagura unaware of her dog demon friend's murderous thoughts opened her mouth wide. She could not believe her boyfriend had just said that and intended to defend herself.

"I'm not done talking here." The dark haired demon added as he noticed Kagura opening her mouth as if ready to protest.

"Secondly I never asked for a kid. Hell had I known you didn't have the money to get an abortion, I would have paid for it. To be honest when we were together I didn't use a condom because I thought you were on the pill or something... but those are just details, she's still young I'm sure we can find her a nice loving family. Adoption is not uncommon at her age, right?" Shinichi asked looking from Kagura to Sesshoumaru with raised eyebrows.

The wind sorceress opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before finally finding her voice.

"You are asking me to choose between my daughter and... _you_?" The wind sorceress asked struggling to keep her tears in. She felt as if she was in a nightmare, so she decided to ignore the emotions inside her. Just like she used to do when dealing with Naraku, she decided to tuck away her throbbing emotions in order to stay clear headed, and deal with them later on.

Sesshoumaru's amber eyes became dusted with red, he had never wanted more to tear his claws through someone before. He could not recall ever hating someone more than he did Shinichi at the moment. Even when he fought with his brother, or when the hanyou had accidentally severely injured his left arm, Sesshoumaru had never _really_ wanted to hurt Inuyasha, but the same could not be said of Shinichi. No, to Sesshoumaru, he deserved any torment and great amount of pain he could get.

"Well it's quite an obvious choice. You told me things had been rough for you during the past years, so you should happy to get rid of the kid" The dark haired demon explained his reasoning.

"Things have been 'rough' for Kagura because you were not here for her and her daughter as you should have." Sesshoumaru grumbled spitefully.

"Oh really "just a friend" when I want to ask your opinion I will be sure to ring you, okay?" Shinichi retorted dryly as he glared at Sesshoumaru.

Feeling his anger rise at being insulted in his own home, the dog demon took a step forward. Sensing the instability in Sesshoumaru's great demonic aura and not really keen on playing referee to a demonic wrestling match, Kagura stepped towards her friend and blocked him by extending her arm in front of his strong body.

"You were right Shin, it's quite an easy choice to make" Kagura agreed nodding her head in assent.

The dark haired demon smiled at her answer sending a cocky grin in the dog demon's direction. He could tell how much Sesshoumaru hated him, but of course the feeling was mutual. The inu youkai would have glared right back at him, but he was side tracked awaiting Kagura's answer with impatience. He feared that she would let herself be swayed by Shinichi once more.

_'Do not disappoint me and fall into this bastard's deceptive words.'_ Sesshoumaru thought trying to will Kagura to make the right decision.

"Yeah it's very easy to decide." Kagura paused to let out a humorless chuckle.

To Sesshoumaru's surprise and disgust she walked towards Shin and rested her palm against his cheek, cradling it tenderly. At the wind sorceress's apparent display of affection, Shinichi sent a grin at Sesshoumaru.

_'What is the witch doing to that asshole?'_ The dog demon wondered as he responded to the dark haired demon's grin with a sharp glare.

The answer of his question was soon provided when Kagura's hand left Shinichi's cheek, to come back as a sharp resonating slap.

"Get the hell out of here. _My_ daughter is the most important person in my life, and if you don't feel the same way then you're not worth my time... I can't believe I've been so stupid. My friends were right you really are a bastard. I don't want to ever see you again." Kagura said shaking in fury. As much as she wanted to break down and cry, she refused to appear weak in Shinichi's eyes, and show him how much he could get to her.

At least looking at the bright red spot on the cheek of the pale skinned demon standing in front of her made Kagura feel at least a little better.

"What?You've got to be kidding." Shinichi said his hazel eyes burring in anger and hatred. He massaged his sore cheek paying attention not to show Kagura in how much pain he was.

Sesshoumaru looked at Shinichi with gleeful eyes. Of course he would have wanted to be the one to deliver the blow, but he esteemed that it was sweet justice for Kagura to be the one defending herself.

_'The witch is as strong as I knew she was'_ He thought then appreciatively as he pushed some of his silver bangs out of his eyes.

"I came all the way here and that's all you've got to say?" The dark haired demon said fury reflecting in his deep hazel eyes. "Geez Kagura you're such a tease. Do you think I came all the way here to bond and get family time? Or even better to take you and that kid away so that we would happily ride together in the sunset? Ha! Please give me a break. There's only one reason I came down here..." He then trailed off eying Kagura with a lustful expression in his eyes as he slowly ran his tongue over his lower lip, in a gesture sure to infuriate his ex girlfriend and her dog demon friend.

The wind sorceress was crushed. _'All his time I've been waiting for him. I counted on him. Gods I was such a fool, all he truly wants is a good fuck before he disappears again?'_ She thought to herself feeling her heart shatter to pieces.

"I won't repeat myself. Get out! And don't you dare come next to me or Kanna again." The wind sorceress said on a low threatening tone as she crouched to take her daughter in her arms and hug her tight to her chest.

Kanna blissfully unaware of the adults' discussion over her head, slightly surprised by her mother's sudden action. The toddler however slowly returned her mother's hug before letting out a yawn and burying her small face in her mother's neck, breathing in the comforting scent she was used to.

"As if I'd be interested in that kid. I'm not as stupid as you think, I'm sure you and your friend over there are trying to con me. Well, sorry but I ain't that gullible and I know she's not mine, so you're not getting one penny out of me." Shinichi exclaimed. The fact that Sesshoumaru's penthouse was large and luxuriously furnished had seemingly not occurred to the dark haired demon.

Shinichi sighed as he was a little upset his plan had failed. All he intended to do was having Kagura in his bed at the end of the night before leaving her. He was then going to return to the nice and proper, albeit very boring in bed, fiancÃ©e his parents had approved of. His fiancÃ©e, Kaname was of course waiting for him back home not aware of his planned betrayal.

Shinichi had met her in school and the two of them made the perfect couple on paper, just what he needed. Kaname as he did came from a quiet, nice family, except hers was much much more wealthy. She had money, education and was adored by his parents. And after a lot of effort he had also managed to be liked by her parents, on who he planned to mostly depend financially speaking. In fact Kaname's father had already offered him a nicely paying job, which Shinichi had of course happily accepted. A pretty well bred wife and financial security were things Shinichi was not going to jeopardize for some sex.

_'Even if Kagura's one hell of a good lover'_ The dark haired demon thought back to the summer he had spent in the wind sorceress's presence, which had resulted in the conception of Kanna.

"Yeah you're right. Kanna's mine _all mine_. You won't ever see her again or put your filthy hands on her. Now I'll say it one lat time get out!" Not even bothering to see if Shinichi was going to follow through on what she had said, Kagura took a step back and rocking her daughter gently murmured in her ear "Mommy loves you so so much. More than anything."

"Do you think I'm stupid? In a few years when I'll inherit everything from the old man, I know you'll come back asking for money so we better..." Shinichi started before being interrupted. One of the main reason Shinichi had chosen to seduce Kaname was that she was an only child, therefore would inherit everything from her wealthy father, and Shinichi as her husband would get a large part of it.

Sesshoumaru had had enough. He did not know how he had managed to not say a word until then but enough was enough.

"You will shut your mouth." The dog demon said on a low threatening tone. "Kagura put Kanna to bed, it is past her bedtime" He then added on a warmer tone turning towards the wind sorceress as if the reason for their fool mood was not standing in the room with them.

"I... what?" She asked the dog demon surprised.

"Do as I say and think of her well being, the child is sleepy." He commanded soothingly, sounding less harsh than before. He could tell that the wind sorceress was confused and hurt and giving her a specific task would be sure to ease her mind.

"Okay" She agreed sending one last murderous glare towards the father of her daughter. "Come on Kanna-chan let's put you to bed." The wind sorceress said kissing her daughter's pale bangs tenderly. The wind sorceress then headed towards the guest bedroom. Sesshoumaru almost let out a sigh as he was silently grateful Kagura listened to him without arguing or protesting for a change.

When Kagura and Kanna disappeared in the corridor, Sesshoumaru cracked his knuckles in a threatening way as he noticed Shinichi's hazel eyes following Kagura. With a step to the side, the dog demon effectively stood in front of the entrance of the corridor, preventing Shinichi from moving forward if he planned to. The latter scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest as he noticed the dog demon's protective stance.

"How much?" The dog demon asked resting his cold amber eyes in Shinichi's.

"Excuse me?" The dark haired demon asked in surprise.

"Name your price. Once you will be paid, you will refrain from ever coming into contact with Kagura and her daughter. You also will relinquish any paternal rights on the child. If you violate this agreement you will be sued."

"Wow! What? You mean to tell me she's really my kid? Ha! Now that's a good one. I really thought at the time Kagura was on the pill or whatever. Now well, how much to keep me away you asked? What if I was to say 50,000 dollars?" Shinichi asked with a mocking grin.

"Done. My lawyer will contact you once the necessary paperwork is drawn. Once you sign the money will be wired in its entirety in the bank account of your choice. Once again you will never come near Kagura or Kanna again." Sating this the dog demon walked over to his working area and retrieved a business card from a drawer. "Contact my lawyer tomorrow he will inform you of the detail."

The dog demon was not sure why he had decided to bargain with Shinichi, but he felt he had made the right decision. As much as the silver haired youkai hated the idea of giving money to him, he felt that spending such a sum was little next to nothing if in exchange it could buy Kagura and Kanna's safety, freedom and peace of mind.

Shinichi whistled appreciatively as he eyed the golden letters on Sesshoumaru's attorney's business card.

"Well I'll be damned, maybe I should have asked for more." The dark haired demon mocked as he carefully placed the card in his pocket.

"I trust we have reached an agreement" Sesshoumaru said eager to get rid of the offending man standing next to him.

"Well it was good for me, though I wonder what's in it for you. Well then again if I remember Kagura's pretty good in bed. So, I guess to you she's a good enough fuck to be worth that kind of cash!" Shinichi then let out a roaring laughter.

Hearing this Sesshoumaru reached his breaking point, he did not think he would be able to restrain himself anymore. With a growl of pure hatred he advanced towards Shinichi. Before the dark haired demon could register what had happened, he was lying across Sesshoumaru's living room carpet, holding a shaking hand to his heavily bleeding nose.

"Oh. My apologies, it seems my fist could not help but connect with your nose." The dog demon commented with a smirk, an absolutely not contrite expression on his face as he glowered down to the demon who was now struggling to get to his feet.

"Now how about you leave, it would be unbecoming if you left a pool of blood on my floor. I trust you know the way to the door." On this note, Sesshoumaru turned around and walked towards the corridor of his penthouse. He did not fear any retaliation from Shinichi, after all the dog demon knew a coward when he saw him...

* * *

"Kagura?" Sesshoumaru asked as he softly knocked on the door of the guest bedroom. The dog demon had at least waited until he was sure to have heard Shinichi close the front door behind him to go look for his house guest.

The silver haired youkai had a small contented smile even if he knew that in the following days his bank account would be slightly lighter. The money was not really an issue to him, it was after all nothing he would not be able to remake in no matter of time.

"Is he gone?" The broken choking voice of Kagura woke Sesshoumaru from his reflection. He looked down at the wind sorceress and what he saw made him ache inside. Despite her best efforts to hide it, the red rimming and mascara smudges under her eyes were a clear indication that she had been crying.

"Yes and he will not be back." The dog demon answered raising a clawed tip finger to wipe away a stray tear from her fair cheek.

"How do you know that?" Kagura asked worriedly. For all she knew Shinichi could come and claim his right to Kanna in a few years, and this scared her more than anything.

Sesshoumaru knew that the fact that he had paid off her ex-boyfriend to stay away would not go down well with Kagura, also it would cause her unnecessary stress; therefore, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

"He revealed to me he had been lying to you all along and had not plans to bring you along. He had not even mentioned Kanna to any of his relatives." Sesshoumaru lied effortlessly before adding "He will _never_ be back or take her away from you."

"I hope you're right." Kagura said doing her best to swallow the persistent lump in her throat. With a small forced smile she walked forward, closing the door behind her, whispering a small "Kanna's asleep, wouldn't want to wake her."

"Do you think you can wait until tomorrow to gloat and say 'I told you so'?" The wind sorceress asked with a humorless chuckle as she and her host walked towards the living room.

"I intend to do no such thing" The dog demon assured her, feeling hurt that she would think otherwise.

"Well, you're a better man than I would be... . So Shin won't ever be back. I bet you scared the shit out of him. That's the only reason I can see for him to leave." Looking into his deep golden eyes did not show her wrong.

"Guess it's one more thing I have you to thank for. I don't know if I'll ever be able to pay you back for all you did for me and Kanna." Kagura said raising her hand to caress Sesshoumaru's cheek, sweeping her thumb over his stripes.

The dog demon was shocked at first by the physical contact, but did not comment on it, as he actually quite enjoyed it.

_'Contrary to what I thought Sessh is such a nice guy, he would never hurt me like Shin did'_ Kagura thought as tears ran down her cheeks when her ex boyfriend's hurtful revelations came back to her mind. She leaned forward, approaching her unsuspecting friend.

"Kagura, what are you..." Sesshoumaru started but she interrupted him by a firm kiss pressed to his lips.

**To be continued...**

A/N: I know you all hate Shin right now, and are all wondering how Sesshy is going to react to Kagura's sudden kiss. We'll find out in **Comforting embrace**.


	15. Comforting embrace

_**Chapter 15: Comforting embrace**_

A/N: So many different opinions on what should happen, maybe heated cliffys should be written more often :P

Rejoice I had to update today instead of tomorrow otherwise you would have had to wait until the weekend.

**Killersupergirl** (Shin still not getting any love lol. Yep my famous cliffys are back. The kiss? You'll have o read and see.)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**Klv** (Never apologize for a long review; I love those. What;s really going on in Kagura's head, and does she really want Sessh? Some answers will be given. By the way who said Sesshy even had feelings for her?)

**Kaze Tsukai No Kagura**

**Krad**

**The freak locked in ur closet**

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

**DeathAngel69**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**Kiari13**

**XelaKitsune (x4)**

**Sesshkagluv (x2)** (Wouldn't that just be too bad for Shin? But don't worry about it, Sesshy's high power lawyer deserves his pay for a reason; there won't be any loophole. Hum what are you insinuating about Kagura?...)

**Sovereignty** (Glad you appreciate the cliffhanger. Sorry but no plans o kill off Shin... yet?)

**Bre'Auna Kemp** (Lol seems like someone is pushing for a steamy lemon, bu will it happen? Read and find out.)

**Zetsuii** (Oh it's so nice to see you're reading this story as well. Updates are every Thursday :P )

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"_Do you think you can wait until tomorrow to gloat and say 'I told you so'?" The wind sorceress asked with a humorless chuckle as she and her host walked towards the living room._

"_I intend to do no such thing" The dog demon assured her, feeling hurt that she would think otherwise._

"_Well, you're a better man than I would be... . So Shin won't ever be back. I bet you scared the shit out of him. That's the only reason I can see for him to leave." Looking into his deep golden eyes did not show her wrong._

"_Guess it's one more thing I have you to thank for. I don't know if I'll ever be able to pay you back for all you did for me and Kanna." Kagura said raising her hand to caress Sesshoumaru's cheek, sweeping her thumb over his stripes._

_The dog demon was shocked at first by the physical contact, but did not comment on it, as he actually quite enjoyed it._

_'_Contrary to what I thought Sessh is such a nice guy, he would never hurt me like Shin did_' Kagura thought as tears ran down her cheeks when her ex boyfriend's hurtful revelations came back to her mind. She leaned forward, approaching her unsuspecting friend._

"_Kagura, what are you..." Sesshoumaru started but she interrupted him by a firm kiss pressed to his lips._

_'I have to push her away. I have to push her away'_ The dog demon kept repeating in his mind, but despite his efforts he could not prevent himself from taking some pleasure from the warm lips awkwardly working against his. Sesshoumaru knew it was wrong, and that in a way he was taking advantage of Kagura's distress, but her sweet cherry lips were too much for him to resist.

The wind sorceress could tell Sesshoumaru was not entirely responding to her kiss, but she blamed it on surprise. Deciding to pursue her plan, she opened her mouth and tried to pry open the dog demon's mouth.

Feeling Kagura try to deepen their kiss, the god demon's mind drew blank. _'What could be so wrong with just one kiss?'_ He asked himself as he slowly started to return Kagura's kiss, and parted his lips.

Finally starting to get the reaction she wanted out of her host, Kagura felt encouraged and emboldened. The wind sorceress pushed her tongue inside Sesshoumaru's mouth, and moaned as it brushed against his warm appendage. The silver haired demon eagerly responded to Kagura's deep kiss. She curled her body into his, trying to be as close to him as possible, before burying her hand into his long silver tresses.

As their two tongues entwined, he felt a surge of incredible desire and pleasure course through him, but as much as he wanted to push Kagura against the wall behind her and have his way with her, Sesshoumaru decided to hold himself back.

Glad to have made the cold dog demon react, Kagura slowly raised her second hand and trailed it up Sesshoumaru's arms before resting it on the dog demon's shoulder. Getting no objection from Sesshoumaru, Kagura lowered her two hands to run them over his chest. Still paying attention not to break their kiss, she then lowered her nimble fingers to the buckle of Sesshoumaru's belt trying to unfasten it quickly.

The feeling of Kagura's warm palms dancing over him and trailing downwards to his waistband sobered up the dog demon.

_'I want the witch, but not like this, when she has tears running down her eyes and when she feels lonely, hurt and rejected. No this will not do. When I will have Kagura, it will not be when her mind is filled with another man, and with tears in her eyes'_ He thought when the salty taste of the droplets touched his tongue.

"Enough" Sesshoumaru commanded when he pushed Kagura away by placing his large warm hands on her shivering shoulders.

"No wait, I can make it good for you. I promise you'll enjoy it." She insisted shrugging off his hold on her before leaning forward, her moist lips looking for Sesshoumaru's once more trying to regain their lost contact.

"No" he said more forcefully as he backed her away against the wall.

After the strong impact against the wall, as if she had suddenly regained her senses, Kagura looked at her friend with fear and regret in her crimson eyes. She unmated her back from the pristine white wall and took a step back towards the master bedroom.

"I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me... I just..." Feeling a wave of anger, disgust and mostly embarrassment overcome her, Kagura quickly fled towards the door closest to her without sparing a glance at Sesshoumaru.

"Damn it" He whispered in frustration under his breath before heading towards the closed door Kagura had taken refuge behind.

The dog demon knocked on the door lightly, then not getting any answer banged louder.

_'Of course the witch would react this way. It was to be expected, she is trying to show her gratitude in the only way she may know how. After all using herself and her body might be the only way she has always known to attract men and get what she wanted. I am sure she must be terrified of what the future may hold and merely wished to make sure I will keep on helping her. In fact having men willing to pay merely to spend an evening in her company must have convinced Kagura that using her charms must be the best way to get things from men.'_ Sesshoumaru thought angry at himself for pushing Kagura away so harshly.

"Witch, open this door at once!" He ordered. He wanted to dissipate any misunderstanding between them as fast as possible. Sesshoumaru also wanted to reassure Kagura that he had no plan of getting rid of her, on the contrary...

Still not getting any reaction from the wind sorceress, Sesshoumaru pressed his ear against the door trying to find out what Kagura could be doing locked in his room.

* * *

_'What the fuck is wrong with me?'_ Kagura wondered clenching her fists at her sides. She sat on the thick and plush carpet of Sesshoumaru's bedroom, keeping her back pressed firmly against the door. She could feel the vibration of the dog demon's pounding on the door against her skin, but she did not move from her spot.

"How could I be so stupid?" The wind sorceress wondered banging her fist

against the floor before wiping some of the ever flowing tears from her cheeks. She was extremely angry at herself because she simply could not explain why she had reacted as she did.

_'What was I thinking throwing myself at him like that? What is Sesshoumaru going to think of me now?'_ The crimson eyed demoness asked herself in anger.

_'What am I saying? Instead of worrying about Sesshoumaru, I should be concerned about my and Kanna's future. Serves me right... I should have known better than basing my whole future on Shin. I counted on Yura, it didn't work... I counted on Shinichi and clearly I was so mistaken... Then why am I expecting Sessh to be any better or different?_ The wind sorceress thought as she nervously played with the hem of her blue dress.

_'I guess first I'll have to apologize to Sesshoumaru in order to dispel any weirdness between us. Then I'll have to find a solution by myself. I need to stop relying on people. Especially men... Shin did give me a good lesson on that.'_ She wiped a stray tear.

_'From now on I will be the only person Kanna and I can and_ will _count on. Even if I have to work my butt off, I'll make things okay... no I'll make things_ great _for us. First I'll have to find us a place to stay; I've counted on Sesshoumaru too much already. Then I'm going to find a job. I trust in myself, I know I can do this. I am done waiting for other people to solve my problems. From today on I'll change my life myself! And I won't take pity or charity either!'_ Kagura told herself a determined light shinning in her crimson orbs. She then stood up and walked over to the length mirror hung on Sesshoumaru's wall. She groaned as she noticed how disheveled she looked.

Cursing under her breath she wiped the make up smudges under her eyes and smeared lipstick from her cheeks before straightening her dress and smoothing her hair and tying it in her usual bun.

"I still have some time to go before achieving my freedom. A freedom I will obtain by myself!" The wind sorceress said aloud with a disappointed sigh as she thought about the promise she had made herself only to free her hair when she would have gained her freedom, which she had thought would have come with Shinichi.

* * *

Sesshoumaru's sense of hearing was so attuned as he tried to find out what Kagura was doing in his bedroom, that the silver haired demon could easily pick up sobbing sounds coming from the other side of the door. After taking a long steadying breath, his sensitive nose picked up tears coming from somewhere else. It was with surprise that Sesshoumaru proceeded towards the guest bedroom Kagura and Kanna shared. Upon entering he quickly found out that as expected the youkai infant was the other person crying.

_'These females and their tears. What am I to do now?'_ He wondered as he made his way towards Kanna who was sitting up on the bed looking around her with tears in her dark eyes.

With the help of the light given off by the small side lamp, the blond little girl could tell that none other than "the nice man that made her mom laugh,"as Kanna liked referring to Sesshoumaru, had come for her.

"Mommy" She simply breathed out explaining the reason for her upset. Even if Kagura had tried to hide her tears from her daughter when she had put her to bed, Kanna had still seen them and it scared her.

_'This is all so troublesome.'_ The dog demon thought in desolation. He was not used to dealing with a crying female, but two at the same time was almost too much for him to handle.

While pondering on his next course of action, something occurred to Sesshoumaru.

_'Since the witch does not seem in any state to comfort her daughter, I guess I will have to step in...'_ He thought as he sat on the bed next to Kanna.

The reason he did not go to check on Kagura again was also that the dog demon was worried about things being too awkward between the two of them too soon after their kiss. Sesshoumaru felt ashamed to have taken advantage of Kagura's distress by accepting her kiss so eagerly and even more for pushing her harshly because he was afraid of not being able to keep a control on his lust.

Not sure how to comfort the little girl, Sesshoumaru took her in his arms and with his thumb brushed her tears.

"This Sesshoumaru is aware you can be trusted to know the best. Your mother is... going through a very hard time, and it is your duty to do your best to help her" He tried explaining uncomfortably.

The blond toddler did not understand all Sesshoumaru had asked of her, but she understood that her mother was not going to come for her; this was not unusual to her after all Kagura often times was not available to comfort her daughter when she had to work. On the other hand Kanna found out that she enjoyed having the dog demon's comforting presence better than having the old woman Kaede to look after her.

Noticing that the little girl's tears had stopped and that she was now looking at him expectantly, Sesshoumaru rested a tender hand on her fair head. Exhaustion finally catching up to her, Kanna leaned forward to rest her head against Sesshoumaru's chest.

_'As pathetic and cowardly as it sounds, I would rather deal with Kanna than Kagura'_ Sesshoumaru thought as he ran his claws along the little girl's pale locks. Not wanting to disturb the toddler who had now closed her eyes and was resting on him, the dog demon leaned backwards against the pillows. Before he knew how or even planned it, the dog demon had closed his eyes and fallen asleep.

* * *

After taking enough time to recollect herself, Kagura walked out of Sesshoumaru's bedroom and headed towards the guest bedroom to check on her daughter. To the wind sorceress's shock, the silver haired demon as sprawled on the bed deeply asleep with Kanna snuggled against him. Despite how bleak her future seemed to her, or the fact that she just had her heart shattered, the display brought a genuine smile to Kagura's lips

As if she had felt her mother's presence, Kanna raised her head and looked straight at Kagura. After flashing her mom a smile, the pale demoness closed her eyes and once more rested her head on the dog demon's chest.

Not wanting to disturb the twosome, with a warm yet sad smile on her lips Kagura silently reached over to the bedside table to turn the small lamp off and covered the two with the light covers. She then walked over to the door of the bedroom.

_'Maybe I shouldn't let Kanna get too close to Sessh... who knows how things may turn out between us once he wakes up...'_ The wind sorceress thought sadly as she headed towards the dog demon's bedroom to take some rest.

Despite her realization, seeing the unusually contended look displayed on her daughter's face made Kagura decide to let her stay next to Sesshoumaru, if only for the night. _'Kanna better stock up on good memories for now, who knows what will happen to us or if she will get another reason to smile like that...'_

**To be continued...**

A/N: Sorry no lovey-dovey scene between are two demons... yet? Sorry for the deceiving title :P

What may happen in the next chapter? How about Sesshy making Kagura an offer she may not be able to refuse? The next chapter will be named **Tempting propositions**.


	16. Tempting propositions

_**Chapter 16: Tempting propositions**_

A/N: A specially early update to thank everyone for the amazing support I've been getting for this story. To show my appreciation I'll be posting another chapter either Friday or this weekend :)

Thank you all for the reviews:

**Killersupergirl** (What will Kagura decide? We will see.)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**ALLheartsOnFraya** (I didn't even realize it, you're right another proposal lol.)

**Klv (Congrats on leaving the 200th review!)** (Lol. Here's an update I'm sure you're happy. Don't be too hard on Kagura, she just got her heart broken after all)

**Kaze Tsukai No Kagura**

**Krad**

**The freak locked in ur closet**

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

**DeathAngel69**

**Kiari13**

**Hellina-Bertinelli**

**AOP**

**Sesshkagluv** (Once more very good observations. How evil am I? We'll have to see.)

**Little Green Purse** (LMFAO What a lapsus; Sesshy would be so proud!)

**Sovereignty** (Lol! Who said there would even be a death? Geez aren't you blood thirsty?)

**Zetsuii** (I'm so glad you thought the scene was cute and adorable!)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_After taking enough time to recollect herself, Kagura walked out of Sesshoumaru's bedroom and headed towards the guest bedroom to check on her daughter. To the wind sorceress's shock, the silver haired demon as sprawled on the bed deeply asleep with Kanna snuggled against him. Despite how bleak her future seemed to her, or the fact that she just had her heart shattered, the display brought a genuine smile to Kagura's lips_

_As if she had felt her mother's presence, Kanna raised her head and looked straight at Kagura. After flashing her mom a smile, the pale demoness closed her eyes and once more rested her head on the dog demon's chest._

_Not wanting to disturb the twosome, with a warm yet sad smile on her lips Kagura silently reached over to the bedside table to turn the small lamp off and covered the two with the light covers. She then walked over to the door of the bedroom._

'Maybe I shouldn't let Kanna get too close to Sessh... who knows how things may turn out between us once he wakes up...' _The wind sorceress thought sadly as she headed towards the dog demon's bedroom to take some rest._

_Despite her realization, seeing the unusually contended look displayed on her daughter's face made Kagura decide to let her stay next to Sesshoumaru, if only for the night._ 'Kanna better stock up on good memories for now, who knows what will happen to us or if she will get another reason to smile like that...'

* * *

As soon as he opened his eyes, Sesshoumaru looked around himself in surprise. It took him some time to remember how he had ended up sleeping in the guest bedroom of his penthouse, with Kanna snuggled up against him. Once he remembered what had happened the night before between Kagura and him, he cursed under his breath.

_'I better go and apologize to the witch; I wouldn't put it past her to try to leave because of... our_ encounter _of last night.'_ He thought thinking back to their kiss, as he sat up in bed. His movement also awakened Kanna who opened her eyes with a small yawn.

"Wake up sleepyhead" The dog demon said as he ruffled the toddler's pale blond locks. He quickly shut his mouth as he realized what he had just said; the playful words his father used to tell Inuyasha and him when he would wake them up every morning.

Kanna started chuckling at Sesshoumaru's teasing, and to his surprise Sesshoumaru found he quite enjoyed the sound.

"My my what a pleasant sight!" Kagura said cheerfully as she walked inside the guest bedroom. She picked up her daughter and hugged her close before tickling her sides. Kanna's small chuckle turned to a full blown laugh to her mother's delight. The wind sorceress could not remember when was the last time she had been treated to her little girl's laugh.

_'It seems the witch is going to pretend nothing happened yesterday... fine with me'_ Sesshoumaru thought as he looked at Kagura who with a carefree appearance tossed her daughter in the air a few times to make her laugh some more.

"I'll go wash up Kanna... after that I think... we need to talk" Kagura said as she balanced her toddler on her hip.

"Yes." Sesshoumaru agreed. The deep look he gave her suddenly made Kagura's knees feel weak.

'_Damn it keep it together girl!'_ The crimson eyed demoness thought as she did her best to avert her eyes from Sesshoumaru's appealing looking lips. _'This is all because of what happened last night. I guess getting a close look at him made me realize how incredibly hot Sesshoumaru really is. And his soft lips… No I'm not even going to go there!'_ She then added mentally before cursing under her breath. To her anger, she could vividly recall the feel of Sesshoumaru's warm lips and skin against hers.

Not wanting Sesshoumaru to notice the strong attraction she felt for him, Kagura quickly walked out of the guest bedroom her daughter in arms.

* * *

The dog demon's golden eyes once more rested on the piece of paper he was holding in his hand. Just for good measure he again quickly surveyed it and the calculator resting on his desk before a small satisfied smirk reached his lips.

_'This will be sure to get to the witch'_ He thought satisfied and smug as how quickly he had managed to formulate a fail proof plan.

"So I finished cleaning up the kitchen, and Kanna's playing in the bedroom. It's pretty damn amazing how strong the medication that doc prescribed her is. I mean she's doing so great" Kagura said attempting small talk to distract her nervousness.

"It is a good thing you mentioned Kanna's treatment. Here" Sesshoumaru said as he stood up from behind his desk to hand to Kagura the piece of paper he was scribbling on earlier.

The wind sorceress studied the paper in silence for a full minute before being able to find her voice.

"What is this... is this what I think it is?" She asked dumbfounded.

"A rough estimate of the money you owe me." The dog demon answered with a deceptively carefree shrug. "I took into account your daughter's quite expensive medical bills, your part of the rent, and other expenditures." He added a small smile revealing his sharp fangs tugging at his lips.

"Wow... but there's no fucking way in hell I can give you that much money!" Kagura cried out in shock outrage and incomprehension. _'I thought he said he would help me for free? Did he change his mind because of what I foolishly did yesterday?'_ She thought to herself. Her crimson eyes then once more lowered to the paper. In her opinion it showcased an insane number of zeros following the one on the piece of paper.

"Indeed, this Sesshoumaru doubt you would." He remarked nodding in agreement.

"Then what the fuck's wrong with you?" Kagura exclaimed. "You promised you'd help me for free."

"Only for the duration of your stay, which, if I remember your promise correctly was supposed not to last... Besides, you were the one who _did_ say you would pay me back eventually…" At his words Kagura sent him a sharp glare, but knowing he was right refrained from making any comments on the situation.

Sesshoumaru's eyes lit up in glee. _'Better she be mad at me than thinking about that waste of skin ex boyfriend of hers.'_

"Yeah well you've got some nerve. You _did_ say money didn't matter to you." Kagura reminded him.

"I changed my mind." He answered with a shrug.

"Bastard of a jerk, how can you do that!" She snapped her crimson eyes becoming darker as her anger rose. _'Is he trying to get rid of me? That would make sense. I was after all not supposed to stay here too long, but now that Shin is gone and that I can't even rely on Yura I don't know how long I will be needing Sessh's help. He can't throw me out now, what am I going to do?'_ She wondered as she grew afraid.

"Insults again? How tedious to see we have reverted to your bad language as at our first meeting. I was under the impression you had told me all you needed to tell me at the time."

"Seems like it needed to be retold" Kagura muttered under her breath, but not low enough for the dog demon's sharp ears not to hear it.

Sesshoumaru smirked at her antics, clearly enjoying himself.

"I am a businessman, but I too am a charitable man. It may seem to you as if I presented you with a problem, but I can also provide the solution." The dog demon retorted his smug smile slightly growing as he noticed the irritation on Kagura's face reaching new heights.

"You will work for me." He stated on a stern tone, not even leaving room for argumentation or protestation.

"What?" The wind sorceress screamed not sure to have grasped what he had said.

"I did not know you suffered from hearing problems as well as an insufferable personality." He off handedly remarked.

"You bastard. My ears work just fine. It's your mouth that has issues. What the fuck are you talking about?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest in a clear display of anger.

"Lower your voice. I am sure you agree Kanna had to see enough distress yesterday" Sesshoumaru instructed. The sudden look of sadness that overcame Kagura's face made him regret his light reference to Shinichi's betrayal.

The dog demon loudly cleared his throat to dispel the suddenly heavy and sad atmosphere that had settled between them.

"I am in need of a secretary, and you will fill this position. You will be paid 100,000 dollars a year. My company offers childcare services, so there will not be any problems on his end. You and your daughter will also benefit from the company's health insurance policies. The two of you are of course welcome to stay in my penthouse until you manage to settle yourselves better." The dog demon said as fast as possible, he was sure he was presenting Kagura with an offer she would never be able to refuse, but a part of him still feared she would turn him down.

"I'm speechless." Kagura murmured, her mind still spinning by the figures the dog demon had presented her: More money than she had even imagined earning and complete health care for her daughter.

_'This sounds too good to be true.'_ Kagura thought in amazement. _'Even if there's something not quite right with that scenario, it's not like I have a choice to turn him down. Kanna and I are left with nothing anyway and I don't want to stay in this position.'_

She was about to take Sesshoumaru up on his offer when something occurred to her. "Didn't you tell me you had a secretary?"

"Yes, I did. But not anymore. I am now in need of someone new." Sesshoumaru answered feeling slightly uncomfortable. The reason for his slight discomfort was due to his recollection of the conversation he had with Inuyasha earlier when Kagura was cleaning the kitchen from the breakfast he, the wind sorceress and Kanna had shared.

***Flashback***

"Well well, well, look who's checking in." Inuyasha said as he settled himself more comfortably against the red wooden headboard of his bed. The hanyou pressed a silencing clawed finger on the pouting lips of the dark haired woman lying next to him, who was not taking very happily the interruption of their "fun" by her lover's brother.

"The sole reason this Sesshoumaru is calling you is that I have found a fitting way to have you and Miroku pay for the tasteless prank you played on me on Valentine's Day." The silver haired demon told his younger half sibling.

"Oh really? Boo I'm shaking in my boots." Inuyasha retorted persuaded that nothing Sesshoumaru could cook up would be painful or annoying, or so he hoped.

"Do not mock me!" The older brother growled before adding with a happy smile "You and Miroku are in charge of ridding me of that incompetent fool of a secretary I have been stuck with for far too long."

"Keh! Ain't nothing we can do. Remember Mika is a temp who was hired for six months and she still has eight more weeks to go on her contract. Sorry bastard but you're still stuck with her." Inuyasha said glad to have evaded his brother's punishment.

"That may be, but she will spend the remainder of her contract dividing her time working for both Miroku and you." Sesshoumaru informed his brother, taking the authoritative voice he usually used in his work setting, letting his brother know he did not have the option to refuse.

"Oh come on! Mika sucks at everything she does! Besides I already have a secretary I'm satisfied, _very_ satisfied with" Inuyasha said with a snicker as he ran a gentle hand over the long dark mane of the woman in his bed. Not taking well to her boyfriend's teasing she smacked his hand away, to which Inuyasha responded with a pout.

"Not my problem" The inu youkai remarked not aware of the sexual innuendo in his brother's statement.

"Feh! And how are you going to work without a secretary? Remember you're already running late with the whole B-bags business." The young brother said unhappily.

"None of your concern. I will see you tomorrow at the office." Without another word Sesshoumaru hung up the phone and went back to computing his estimate of the money Kagura owed him.

***End of Flashback***

"Sesshoumaru, as you just showed you already spent so much money on me... Getting a job would be great, but I owe you too much already. And I hate being indebted to someone..." Kagura said the promise she had made to herself the previous day coming back to her mind. _`I said I would make it on my own without relying on a man. I can't afford being fooled once again, even if I doubt Sessh would ever treat me the way Shinichi. Then again I never could have imagined Shin would cast me and Kanna away like trash.'_

"By working for me you would be paying me back." He reminded her.

"Still... I don't know if it's a good idea." _'I don't want to depend on him this much. What happened with Shin served me as a lesson. Even then I should have known better, after all Naraku taught me all about how trustworthy people can be'_ Kagura thought with a snort.

"Well this Sesshoumaru believes it would be. On the one hand you will pay your debt back, and on the other hand I will gain the secretary I need." He tried explaining his view. He was slightly unnerved because after all, the dog demon had not anticipated for Kagura not to take his offer... _`Why is she fighting me on this? She should know staying by my side is the best for both her and her child!'_ He thought feeling a growl of annoyance form in his throat.

"Okay, so anyway why would you even want to hire me? I'm pretty sure people must be lining themselves at your door to work for a big shot like you." Kagura said trying to weigh the seriousness of Sesshoumaru's proposal.

"That may be true, but these people are not you. I need you Kagura" The dog demon said with a shrug. Despite his light tone, the admission made Kagura's heart flutter and her knees buckle.

_'You have no idea how much.'_ The dog demon thought to himself as he looked at Kagura's appealing red lips, remembering the taste of them on his own lips.

"_You_ need _me_?" Kagura asked feeling a crimson tinge rise to her cheeks as she once more recalled her heated kiss with the dog demon of the previous night.

"I know I can trust you to do a good job. After all I have seen your organizational skills firsthand." He said pointing to his spic and span apartment courtesy of Kagura. "If you can also type and use a phone that is all I need." He said nonchalantly not daring to reveal the fact that his main concern was to make sure Kagura and Kanna would be okay and provided for.

_'Of course he's thinking about my abilities.'_ Kagura thought wanting to smack herself for her foolishness.

"Sesshoumaru, I know what you're doing." Kagura said with a small sour smile.

"Oh? Enlighten me then." He said cocking his head to the side.

"You're worried about Kanna and me aren't you? Don't even try your 'this Sesshoumaru has no feelings routine' with me." She said mirroring his voice before adding "You're my friend and you want what's best for me, but I don't want charity."

"This is why I offered to hire you instead of signing you a check." He informed her amazed that Kagura had been able to see through him. _'It isn't so much that I worry for the witch. It would just be unfortunate that Kanna would have to suffer for her mother's poor choice of a sperm donor...'_

"But still that's what I mean, _you're_ giving me a job, and allowing me to live at _your_ place. Not to mention all this money you already spent on me" She exclaimed waving in front of his face the piece of paper he had given him before.

"Witch I understood your concerns the first time around. Fine. If you want so badly not to owe this Sesshoumaru anything, we can make an arrangement. Every month I will deduct some money from your paycheck until you are done paying me back. I give you three months to find an independent living situation for your daughter and you, but in the meantime you will stay here. Of course you will have to work for me until you have at least paid your debt in full." The dog demon said with a smirk thinking _'There the witch won't be able to get away this time.'_

"I don't like long time contracts." Kagura shot back out of habit, even if she was more satisfied with this agreement.

"You don't really have a choice. It is a take it or leave it proposition." The dog demon said with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay. Looks like you're stuck with me _for now_. As grateful as I am for your help I promise I'll eventually find a way to make it out on my own." She told him a little voice inside her berating her for not being as cautious with Shinichi a few years ago. _'I will never base my whole future on a man anymore.'_ She swore to herself.

"Without doubt" The dog demon agreed with her decision thinking _`I knew it would turn like this; it is after all not the kind of offer people can turn down. The fact that the witch desires to be so independent does impress me however.'_

"Starting tomorrow I'll get a desk job, lucky lucky me." Kagura said attempting to be as cheerful as possible.

Acknowledging that the conversation was over, Sesshoumaru settled on the couch and turned on the TV. Kagura knew that there was another order of business they had to discuss as awkward as it might be for the both of them. She sat next to him and crossed her legs in a nervous gesture. The two of them stayed in silence for a long time until Kagura licked her lower lip before speaking.

"About what happened yesterday night between us..." She trailed off not knowing exactly how to breach the subject.

"No need to speak of it. I know how you truly feel and why this... mistake happened..." Sesshoumaru trailed off interrupting her. _'It was a moment of weakness and you regret it, even if I don't, at least not entirely...'_ He thought to himself.

"Yeah... okay... it's all good I guess... I better go check on Kanna." Kagura said quickly feeling embarrassed before getting to her feet and heading towards the guest bedroom where her daughter was playing. _'I just hope everything will go well between us.'_

**To be continued...**

A/N: How will these two collaborate at work? And how will their relationship evolve? Let's see in the next chapter named **A fresh start.**


	17. A fresh start

_**Chapter 17: A fresh start**_

A/N: As promised here is the next update. From now on there are going to be more characters involved, and maybe, j_ust maybe_ our favorite couple will make some progress from friendship to a more romantic relationship :P

Thank you all for the reviews and the wonderful support:

**Killersupergirl** (Here's your awaited update!)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**Klv** (Yup Sesshy is smart. He knows exactly what he's doing, or does he?)

**Krad**

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

**Kiari13**

**Hellina-Bertinelli**

**XelaKitsune (x2)**

**Soojinyeh**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**Sesshkagluv** (How will Kagura's time working under Sesshoumaru will go? Jealous ex secretaries, perverted co workers or more? Hum we'll see.)

**Sovereignty** (LOL! Who will get the coveted first reviewer spot this time? Just kidding.)

**Zetsuii** (We will see what Inuyasha and Miroku will have to say when they see Kagura. Sesshy making a move? No worries his big master plan is in motion.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"Witch! I told you before that tardiness is not something this Sesshoumaru will tolerate" He scolded Kagura through the closed door of the guest bedroom of his penthouse, before giving the white painted door a resonating bang for emphasis.

To his anger the wind sorceress had been taking an awful lot of time to dress herself for her first day on the job. Proof enough was the fact that the dog demon had had all the time to dress himself, and Kanna. The little girl had to his surprise insisted he be the one to choose her attire for the "big day" not satisfied with that she also fussed enough to have Sesshoumaru instead of her mother feed her breakfast.

_'Kanna is merely nervous.'_ The dog demon justified the toddler's suddenly demanding nature towards him. _'On the other hand the witch has no excuse for taking so much time!'_ He fumed inside as he once more looked down at his wrist watch.

Not able to contain his anger anymore, the silver haired demon opened the door with a quick motion. His action was welcomed by a shrill scream from Kagura as she quickly tightened the damp white bath towel covering her appealing curves. As his golden eyes rested on her barely covered body, Sesshoumaru crushed a lustful groan which threatened

to escape his throat.

"Never heard of knocking asshole?" She screamed at him angrily.

"I knocked, you failed to answer. Beside this is this Sesshoumaru's home." He answered finally averting his piercing gaze from Kagura's breasts to the bed. He raised a surprised thin eyebrow as he noticed that all of the few clothes Kagura possessed were scattered on the bedspread, even the deep sapphire blue gown she had bought for her past lover's return.

"Yeah you could have waited for me to answer. No matter if it's your place or not. You still..." Kagura started frowning.

"What is the meaning of this?" He interrupted her. His question brought a tinge of deep red embarrassment to Kagura's cheeks.

"Well I'm not dumb. I see the way you dress to go to work... and I don't have any "workplace friendly" clothes... except maybe jeans, a sweater and high heeled boots." Kagura admitted lowering her head in shame.

"Is that really the reason why you are going to make this Sesshoumaru late for work? Nonsense. I am the _CEO_, it is therefore expected of _me_ to dress as I do. On the other hand, most employees have a more... casual wardrobe. Mondays are special days anyway since it is the day every employee, except for myself and a few other executives come to work in jeans. This practice of having a more casual workplace is supposed to help the employees relax, and start the week on a positive note." The dog demon explained nonchalantly.

"Really? Great. I wouldn't know; it's not like I ever worked in an office or whatever. Oh also do you think on our way home tonight we could stop at the mall?" Kagura asked as she picked up the blue gown she had worn the night before with pride before her dreams had been shattered.

"Why?" Sesshoumaru asked trying not to act or sound surprised and delighted at Kagura calling his penthouse _home_.

"I want to try to bring back this dress. It was fucking expensive, and since I won't be using it anymore..." She trailed off. "It's a shame. I wish I had been able to make _good memories_ in it."

"I have a meeting this afternoon near the mall, give me the receipt and I will bring the dress back" He lied blatantly. Sesshoumaru knew there was no way any store would take the evening gown back, but he could not help but want to make Kagura happy.

_'Besides I can take the reimbursement money from my own pocket'_ He thought happy with his plan.

"Now hurry, Kanna and I are waiting for you." He said with a small smile before leaving the bedroom.

"Yeah well give me a sec' don't you know ladies like taking time getting ready?" She retorted with a small mocking pout. Sesshoumaru who on his way to the living room heard her last words, scoffed amused.

* * *

"Inuyasha..." Sesshoumaru interrupted himself to breathe deeply and do his best not to crush his phone due to how much he hated the words that would come out of his mouth "I have a favor to ask."

"Keh! What did you just say? For a sec' there I thought you were about to ask me for something" The younger half sibling said happily, not even trying to hide his smugness.

Killing a growl of irritation he could feel rising in his throat, Sesshoumaru then added "I do not care, whatever it may take you, but I want you and Miroku to have all the employees, except the executives to come to work today and every following Monday wearing jeans." Sesshoumaru concluded his surprising request with a deep sigh.

"Keh! Are ya okay?" The hanyou asked surprised by his brother's strange demand.

"Do as I say, do not ask me questions, and I will not ask you any." Sesshoumaru trailed off. At his remark, Inuyasha was sure his heart had missed a beat.

_'Does the stubborn ass know about me and_ her_? There's no way, we were always careful not to live any evidence. Then again Sessh has his ways of finding out the truth.'_ Inuyasha wondered worriedly about his brother's strange statement.

"Okay fine, but you owe Miroku and me. Feh! I have no idea how we're gonna pull off your shitty last second request."

"Thank you." The dog demon murmured before hanging up, not keen on hearing his brother's satisfaction.

"Okay we're ready. Kanna's doc said she shouldn't be contagious anymore, and I gave her the medicine, and packed some just in case. Anyway, we're all set" The wind sorceress said as she joined Sesshoumaru in the living room, holding Kanna in her arms.

"Let us go then" He answered with a nod as he thought about how seeing Kagura smile happily was worth a slight embarrassment in front of his younger half brother.

* * *

"Wow this building is... bigger than I thought" Kagura commented as she looked in surprise at the elevator's buttons illuminated on the cabin's dashboard. The elevator's car suddenly stopped at the number 33.

"I thought you said your office was at the top, on the 100th floor?" Kagura asked in surprise turning to look at her new boss.

"Indeed. We are only stopping to drop off Kanna at the nursery." At hearing the dog demon's words, Kagura instinctively gave her daughter a firm squeeze. When his keen eyes noticed the wind sorceress's slight movement, Sesshoumaru could not help but ask "Is something the matter?"

"No, it's just that I hate being away from Kanna, that's all." Kagura answered as she confidently stepped out of the elevator, still cradling her daughter. The pale blond toddler was looking around her with surprise, studying her surroundings with great interest.

"You have nothing to worry about. The entire staff at Takahashi agency can be trusted. Apart maybe two individuals I will be sure to warn you against once we meet them" Sesshoumaru tried to calm her, mentally picturing Miroku and Inuyasha.

"Okay…" The crimson eyed demoness trailed off trying to sound as confident as possible.

* * *

"Good, now it's your turn" Kagura said as she handed Kanna over to Sesshoumaru.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"I told you before, for some reason she's quite attached to you. And now Kanna wants you to kiss her goodbye too." Kagura explained rolling her eyes. Her statement brought snickers and chuckles from the two young demoness Sesshoumaru had earlier identified as Hari and Ruri, who both worked at the nursery.

The golden eyed demon was sure the two young women also known as the queens of gossip would have a field day relating to everyone in the company how a woman and her young daughter had the big boss wrapped around their little fingers.

"Fine." The dog demon snapped as he refused to take the little girl in his arms, but grudgingly bent forward to lightly press a kiss to the top of her fair downy head. The action made Kanna giggle in delight. Seeing her happy reaction wiped away Sesshoumaru's earlier irritation.

"I do not see why you are making such a trivial matter into such a big deal." He then added suppressing the urge to roll his golden eyes in annoyance as Kagura once more hugged her daughter close to her chest before depositing her on the ground.

The wind witch sent her boss and friend a nasty glare before bending to face her daughter "Even if he didn't say it in a nice way, Sessh is right. You've got nothing to worry about. All you'll do is play and have fun with new friends" The crimson eyed demoness addressed her daughter.

"God knows she needs to work on her social skills." Sesshoumaru muttered under his breath in exasperation. As his eyes strayed to his watch, he killed off a growl of exasperation at seeing how late he was going to be.

"Ugh like you're one to talk. Was being teased in kindergarten that turned you into such an assho… a jerk?" Kagura spat back at him.

_`Who's the one missing social skills? Seriously who can kiss a girl silly one night, and not even want to talk about it the next day?'_ She wondered suddenly feeling boiling anger course through her veins. She cursed, ashamed at realizing how her thoughts had strayed from her daughter to her own relationship with the mysterious and equally unnerving Sesshoumaru Takahashi. _`Shit, I better stop thinking about that kiss. It didn't mean anything, and it's for the best that Sesshoumaru didn't want to talk about it.'_

The dog demon looked at Kagura with surprise written all over his face. _`I had guessed the witch would be stressed but why is she acting so vehemently?'_ He wondered. _'Maybe she resents me for forcing her into this job.'_ The realization made him feel sad and worried over their relationship.

"Do not worry, everything will be alright" He assured Kagura before resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. The sudden rush of heat that overtook him at feeling the warmth of Kagura's skin against his palm took Sesshoumaru by surprise, but before he could think about removing his hold on her, a loud throat clearing was heard behind them.

"Oh Sesshoumaru, I didn't know you had any interest into the nursery. Shippou-chan why don't you go greet your uncle" The dark haired human woman said as she pushed forward the little red haired fox demon hanging on to her hand.

"Kagome? And why is it you are dropping off my brother's son. What a dedicated secretary you are…" The dog demon's casual remark made the young human blush red. Without relinquishing his hold on Kagura's shoulder, he then lowered his large clawed hand to gently tap on the head his younger brother's adopted son.

"Since he doesn't seem to want to introduce me, I'll do it myself. I'm Kagura, Sessh's new secretary, and that's my daughter Kanna. Sesshoumaru was just showing me around." The wind sorceress said smiling as warmly as possible.

"I see. Well maybe Shippou and Kanna will become friends. I'm sure you'll be glad to have someone new to play with, won't you Shippou-chan?" The young fox demon answered with an eager smile and left his uncle's side to rush towards the playpen where Kagura had placed her daughter before.

"Hey I'm Shippou." He said enthusiastically before grinning at Kanna with a broad smile.

"Kanna" She breathed out her name even if she did not reciprocate his smile. The wind sorceress looked at the interaction between the two children with tear brimmed eyes. She had never seen her daughter act friendly with another child, and this brought pure tears of happiness to her crimson orbs.

Kagome switched her deep chocolate eyes from the two children to Sesshoumaru and a smile formed on her lips as she noticed her boss was standing very close to his new secretary. As if he had suddenly felt Kagome's gaze on him, the dog demon let go of Kagura's shoulder, but not after giving it a firm squeeze, and took a step away from her.

"Keh! Wench why the hell is it taking you so long to drop the runt off?" A brash voice exclaimed as the door of the nursery was thrown opened.

"Inuyasha! Don't call Shippou-chan like that and don't yell when there are children around.!" Kagome screamed back at her boss.

"Feh! You're one to talk wench. You're screaming loud enough to wake up corpses!" He bellowed back at her crossing his arms over his chest.

"Enough both of you!" Sesshoumaru ordered on an exasperated tone.

"Hey how long you've been here?" Inuyasha asked, blinking at his older brother in surprise.

"I believe he's been here all along. The question should rather be why. And the answer I am sure would be the beautiful woman standing next to him" The man who unnoticed by everyone had entered the nursery as Inuyasha did, said.

Having a feeling the man was talking about her, Kagura turned to face the newcomer. As she took in his purple blue eyes and small black ponytail, she had the impression she knew him. Once she finally managed to place back the memory that had been tugging at her she opened her mouth wide.

"You?" The wind sorceress exclaimed in surprise and confusion.

**To be continued...**

A/N: How is Kagura going to fit into the madness of the office? Will she stay? And who is that man? Find out in First day on the job.


	18. First day on the job

_**Chapter 18: First day on the job**_

A/N: Nothing much to say, so on with the story!

Thank you all for the reviews:

**Killersupergirl** (You'll see how things turn out)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

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**Klv** (Won't Miroku's presence at the office just make things even more fun for Kagura?)

**Krad**

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**Kon-KON**

**Kaze Tsukai No Kagura**

**Jinxy-sama**

**ArtemisdelaLune** (What a lovely review, it really touched me. Thank you so much for the recommendations and the encouragement. Right now I have no plan to use Rin in this story, but you never know with me. She might pop up at some point totally unannounced :) lol)

**ALLheartsOnfraya** (Sesshy is willing to go far for her, but what will happen for Kagura at the office?)

_On _

**Sovereignty (x2)** (LOOOL! You're so good! We will see if you were right about the identity of the new mysterious man.)

**Zetsuii** (Here's your update! There really haven't been any evil cliffys yet, but it will come...)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"_Feh! Why the hell is it taking you so long to drop the runt off?" A brash voice exclaimed as the door of the nursery was thrown opened._

"_Inuyasha! Don't call Shippou like that and don't yell when there are children around.!" Kagome screamed back at her boss._

"_Keh! You're one to talk wench. You're screaming loud enough to wake up corpses!" He bellowed back at her crossing his arms over his chest._

"_Enough both of you!" Sesshoumaru ordered on an exasperated tone._

"_Hey how long you've been here?" Inuyasha asked, blinking at his older brother in surprise._

"_I believe he's been here all along. The question should rather be why. And the answer I am sure would be the beautiful woman standing next to him" The man who unnoticed by everyone had entered the nursery as Inuyasha did, said._

_Having a feeling the man was talking about her, Kagura turned to face the newcomer. As she took in his purple blue eyes and small black ponytail, she had the impression she knew him. Once she finally managed to place back the memory that had been tugging at her she opened her moth wide._

"_You?" The wind sorceress exclaimed in surprise and confusion._

Her heart started beating wildly as she recognized the man as none other than her first "client" when she had started working for her father. At the time she had been strong and rebellious enough to get rid of the man before _anything_ had happened, which had unfortunately not often been the case with her following clients.

_'Please let him not remember me! Damn I shouldn't have let on that I knew him to begin with.'_ She berated herself as she bit her lower lip.

"Oh I have died and gone to heaven! It's a small world isn't it? We have found each other again, and to think that my beautiful wind goddess even remembers me!" Miroku exclaimed in pure happiness as he stepped forward to stand in front of Kagura. He reached for her hand, but a sharp murderous glare from Sesshoumaru killed his intention.

"I'll think I'll stand over there." Miroku said scared by his boss's reaction as he went over to stand besides his best friend.

"What are you two incapable fools doing here anyway?" Sesshoumaru questioned addressing his half brother and his best friend. He had felt Kagura's discomfort as she noticed Miroku's presence and wanted to get rid of him as fas as possible.

_'How could I forget Miroku had hired Kagura as an escort before? Maybe I should have given her a heads up before coming here.'_ The dog demon thought angry at himself.

"I just came to check up on my son. At least I have a valuable reason for being here. Anyway Kagome and I have tons of work to do. So come on wench let's go" Inuyasha ordered as he turned towards the door.

"Don't talk to me like that! You have no right to be so disrespectful you idiot!" Kagome said angrily as she walked pass Inuyasha.

As the half dog demon looked at her slightly too short green jean skirt sway as she walked away, he managed to keep in a lustful groan.

"Hey! We weren't done talking. Come back here!" The white haired hanyou said angrily as he stomped away after his secretary. He did interrupt himself to turn around and tell his son "Be good runt, I'll pick you up later on."

"Ha my dear _Kagura_, you'll see that as stern as the office may seem, we're all a bunch of kids having fun. Do not feel neglected. I may not have the time right now, but I will make sure to have a nice chat with you later on." Miroku said with a friendly smile as he tried very hard not to disrobe Kagura with his eyes. The main reason being that he did not know what his dear Sango could be watching on her security monitors, not to mention the more imminent threat presented by his boss's presence.

"Wait a sec' how... how do you know my name?" Kagura asked trying to sound as normal as possible. _'He only knew my as Kaze... Please don't tell me Naraku has anything to do with this!'_ She thought repressing the urge to close her eyes and cross her fingers.

"Well our dear big boss informed us of his acquisition of a new secretary. We would have planned a welcome party, but we were given such short notice, which is so different from Sesshoumaru's usual behavior." Miroku remarked with a knowing twinkle in his eyes.

"Miroku, get out of here." Was Sesshoumaru's only response. The young human wasted no time following his advice. He could easily discern the upset in his boss's golden eyes.

"Your daughter is in good hands. Come on, let's get you set up" The dog demon then addressed Kagura as he took her hand and lead her out of the nursery before she could utter any form of protest.

* * *

"I trust you understood everything?" Sesshoumaru asked her.

"Sessh, I'm not dumb, okay. I can operate a phone, a computer, keep track of your appointments and bring you coffee all at the same time. Damn it's not that complicated of a job" Kagura said as she trailed a finger along her desk.

_'MY desk! I have a fucking desk! Ha Naraku would be so angry and jealous if that bastard could see me now!'_ Kagura thought a satisfied and proud grin on her lips. She then lowered a critical glance to the light wood desk behind which she was sitting. Despite the mess covering it, she could already see how she was going to organize _her_ little space.

Noticing the way she was looking at her new working area the dog demon said "If something is not to your liking, we can make all the necessary arrangements."

Kagura nodded her assent before answering "No need. Everything is perfect. The place just needs to be tidied up a little. I mean your last secretary had to be so unorganized. I personally, as I'm sure you noticed, always loved order" She said thinking _'A least cleaning up gave me the impression of being in control of something, since I sure as hell couldn't control my life. Thank you daddy dearest!'_

Nodding in understanding, Sesshoumaru then took out his wallet and out of it fished out a black square piece of plastic. He then slid it on the desk towards Kagura.

"What's that?" She asked eying the piece of plastic with an eyebrow raised in surprise.

"It's a credit card" He answered on his usual deadpan expression.

"No you think? Don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure this one out..." She trailed off mockingly. "No seriously, what is it for?"

"It is for you to use for any type of work expenses." He answered.

"What do you mean by work expenses?" She inquired cocking an eyebrow in surprise.

"Office clothes, money spent on your lunch break. In other words, anything related to you working here. There is no limit, you can spend as much as you want" Sesshoumaru said as he watched Kagura's eyes widen in awe.

"Wow expenses covered, complete health insurance, and great salary, I wonder how come people are not fighting to get a job here". The wind sorceress said impressed.

_'If only you knew...'_ He thought recalling the vast number of resumes sent to the Takahashi agency's human resources' department.

"Hum, it's a company card, and it's in your name. Are you trying to trick me into letting you buy stuff for me? I can accept a job from you, in order to pay back my debt, but that's it. I told you before; I want to work but I don't want charity" Kagura said standing up a somber look on her face.

"Witch come down. It is standard procedure for employees to receive a company card. Since I did not have time to get yours, you can use mine in the meantime." He explained calmly.

Noticing Kagura's doubtful expression he then added "Why does everything have to be such a battle with you? Just do as all the employees do and take the card" He told her with an exasperated sigh.

"Okay fine. I wouldn't want to act differently from your usual employee." She said sitting back down.

"Good. I have to go. I have an appointment and also have some errands to run" Sesshoumaru said thinking _'Pfft! If all the employees received a credit card the company would be ruined in a week.'_.

"Oh so we won't be having lunch together?" She asked slightly disappointed. The dog demon almost smirked at her reaction.

"No, but we will have dinner together. I thought you had enough of me and like Kanna would like to make new friends" He joked with a smirk.

"As unnerving as you are, I like spending time with you" She admitted with a smile.

The dog demon did his best to mask his pleasure at the compliment before changing the subject by saying "I doubt you will feel my absence, as I am sure you will be able to eat with Kagome. She is rather nice."

"Did you just call someone _nice_? Wow I'm shocked!" Kagura exclaimed trying to hide the sting of jealousy in her heart by using humor.

"Instead of mocking me get to work" He observed with a small smile as he pointed to the ringing phone on Kagura's desk.

She stuck her tongue at him before picking the phone and saying the phrase he had taught her earlier "Office of Mr Takahashi, how can I help you?"

_'I knew I had made the right decision'_ The dog demon thought with a smile as he walked over to the room leading to his adjacent office.

* * *

Inuyasha was scratching the side of his hanyou ear with his sharp claws when the shrill sound of his ringing phone disturbed him.

"What?" He barked in the receiver when he picked it up.

"Baka is this anyway to answer you phone?" A deep voice asked him slightly amused.

"What do you want bastard. I can't talk right now, I'm working." The half demon answered annoyed to be disturbed by his brother.

"I will make it fast. I merely need you to keep an eye on Kagura since I will be out of the office for the day." Sesshoumaru said rubbing the bridge of his nose in tiredness.

"If I do it, will you leave me alone and stop calling me all the freaking time? Keh! I've heard too much from you in the past weeks." Inuyasha remarked with a smirk.

"Do not think it is to my liking either. Just make sure everything goes well for the witch, or else..." Leaving his threat pending, the dog demon hung up the phone.

* * *

"So how did you meet Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked as she bit into her cheeseburger with a moan of happiness.

_'Strangely I saw her more like a 'only lettuce' eating type of person'_ Kagura thought as she observed the friendly dark haired woman seating across from her.

"We had a business arrangement..." The wind sorceress answered paying attention not to be specific.

"Oh then how did you end up working here?" The human woman asked, but then noticing Kagura's face changing to sadness she added on an apologetic tone "Sorry I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Nah, it's okay. Let's just say Sesshoumaru managed to snag me away from my controlling asshole of a father." Kagura said with a fake unconcerned shrug before biting in her chicken sandwich.

_'Sesshoumaru rescued her? I knew just like Inuyasha he also has a golden heart'_ Kagome thought with a warm smile.

"Oh I think I ate too much. Thankfully for a change I was able to wear my usual clothes today. Really they should think about making that jeans rule permanent" Kagome said after downing the last of her fries.

"What are you talking about? Don't you guys always wear jeans over here?" The wind sorceress asked in surprise after wiping her mouth.

"What? Where did you hear that? No it's only today that we..." Kagome started to be interrupted by a gruff voice.

"We _nothing_ wench. Keh! You're always blabbering can't hold your mouth shut for one second!" Inuyasha interrupted his secretary as he sat down at the two woman's table.

_'Feh! I got here just in time. Who knows what Sesshoumaru would do if his witch found out about his little plans...'_ The half demon thought with a sigh.

"Funny, you two seem pretty close. Are you dating or something?" Kagura asked her crimson eyes locked on the hanyou and human sitting across from her.

At the wind sorceress's remark, Kagome spit out the mouthful of soda she was about to swallow.

"Feh! Me and the wench? Are you crazy or what?" The white haired half dog demon said forcing himself to sound as disgusted as possible.

"And what's wrong with me?" Kagome asked revolted as she turned on her side to face Inuyasha.

_'Oh crap I am done for.'_ The hanyou thought in dread as he noticed a throbbing vein of anger show on his secretary's forehead.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Will Kagura hear of Sesshy's secret maneuvers? The next chapter will be named **Gifts**.


	19. Gifts

_**Chapter 19: Gifts**_

A/N: Hum... I have nothing much to say, so here's your chapter. Thank you all for the reviews:

**Killersupergirl** (Here's your promised update)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**Klv** (Oh ho someone's naughty lol. What will happen to Inuyasha? Wait and see.)

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**Jinxy-sama**

**LoVIN ThAt HeRb 420**

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**ALLheartsOnfraya**

**XelaKitsune**

**ArtemisdelaLune** (Dear reader don't worry. Let's just say Sesshy won't always be there to prevent Miroku from "talking" to Kagura... It is possible that your pro Rin lobbyism will be successful. Now that I altered the story, which will be longer than planned, she might just make an appearance.)

_On _

**Sovereignty** (If I were Miroku I'd be scared of Sesshoumaru and I sure as hell wouldn't get near a female friend of his!)

**Zetsuii** (Aw thank you so much! An Inu/Kag argument? Why those two get along so well...)

**Buggy6565** (I love getting new reviewers, s thanks a bunch!)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"_Oh I think I ate too much. Thankfully for a change I was able to wear my usual clothes today. Really they should think about making the rule permanent" Kagome said after downing the last of her fries._

"_What are you talking about? Don't you guys always wear jeans over here?" The wind sorceress asked in surprise after wiping her mouth._

"_What? Where did you hear that? No it's only today that we..." Kagome started to be interrupted by a gruff voice._

"_We nothing wench. Keh! You're always blabbering can't hold your mouth shut for one second!" Inuyasha interrupted his secretary as he sat down at the two woman's table._

'Feh! I got here just in time. Who knows what Sesshoumaru would do if his witch found out about his little plans...' _The half demon thought with a sigh._

"_Funny, you two seem pretty close. Are you dating or something?" Kagura asked her crimson eyes locked on the hanyou and human sitting across from her._

_At the wind sorceress's remark, Kagome spit out the mouthful of soda she was about to swallow._

"_Feh! Me and the wench? Are you crazy or what?" The white haired half dog demon said forcing himself to sound as disgusted as possible._

"_And what's wrong with me?" Kagome asked revolted as she turned on her side to face Inuyasha._

'Oh crap I am done for.' _The hanyou thought in dread as he noticed a throbbing vein of anger show on his secretary's forehead_

"Bah why are you asking me? I'm sure if you look at yourself in a mirror you can find out what I meant..." He said unable to simply apologize.

"Oh so now you think I'm unattractive? Well why don't you look at yourself in the mirror more often instead of judging other people you idiot!" Kagome screamed back at her boss.

"Feh then wench maybe you should..." Inuyasha started, but was quickly interrupted by Kagura.

"Enough you two! Why don't you chill a little Kagome. If Inuyasha is anything like his brother, then words aren't his forte. I'm pretty sure he didn't mean anything bad, did you?" Kagura asked her friend's younger half brother with a grin before sipping some of her iced tea. She decided to intervene because she was tired of seeing the two of them argue.

_'These two could give anyone one hell of a headache.'_ The wind sorceress thought in dismay.

"Feh! I am not apologizing. Believe whatever you want." The hanyou said stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest before sending a warm look at his secretary, his ears hung low, willing her to see how truly sorry he felt, and how he really did not mean to offend her.

"Fine, it's true that he is an idiot!" Kagome said with a small smile. She winked at her boss letting him know that she had accepted his silent apology.

"Good job. I won't force you to kiss and make up as I'm sure you can do that by _yourselves._" Kagura said before getting to her feet carrying her empty plate and glass with her.

_'Does she know? How would she?'_ The young human wondered in shock.

"Where are you going?" Inuyasha asked as he eyed the wind sorceress who had started to walk away.

"To check on my daughter, do I need your permission for that? Are you spying on me of something?" The wind sorceress asked with a smirk.

"Keh! Hell no. Why would I do that for?" Inuyasha asked swallowing a lump of nervousness in his throat.

_'I'm pretty sure Sesshoumaru wouldn't want her to know he asked me to keep an eye on her. Geez that woman is fucking scary I'm sure she could neuter a man with her nails. Don't know what my bastard of a brother sees in her. I like my women sweet and nice'_ Inuyasha thought as he glanced at his secretary.

"Good. See you guys later" The wind sorceress said as she marched on with a wave over her shoulder.

"I like her." Kagome said with an appreciative smile. "She'll fit in with us perfectly."

"Keh! Tell that to the bastard Sessh, he'll be thrilled." The dog half demon said as he scratched the back of his left ear.

"Do you want me to help you with that?" Kagome asked sweetly as she ran her finger behind the twitchy furry appendage adorning his head. Her small action made Inuyasha shiver and slightly purr.

"Depends on how fast we can make it back to my office." The words were barely out of Inuyasha's mouth, that the two of them were rushing to the elevators.

* * *

"So how did you find your first day on the job?" Sesshoumaru asked the wind sorceress as they stepped out of the elevator and walked towards the door to his penthouse.

"A piece of cake. I think Kanna had a harder time than I did." She answered with a smile.

"I doubt things were this hard for her. From what I heard from my brother she became fast friends with Shippou." He said looking at the sleeping toddler in his arms. Seeing that Kanna had fallen asleep, Sesshoumaru had insisted on carrying her for Kagura.

"I'm glad. It's nice to see her interacting with kids her age, not like she had the opportunity to before." The wind sorceress said feeling a familiar ache in her chest due to how much Kanna had had to suffer because of Naraku.

Noticing the saddened expression on her face, Sesshoumaru decided to make her feel better by announcing his surprise.

"While I was out this afternoon I bought a little something." He said with a tiny smile as he fished out the keys to his apartment.

"I thought I told you before, don't buy me anymore stuff." Kagura said slightly exasperated. "Are you trying to increase my debt in order not to get rid of me or what?" She then added trying to lighten the mood as she did not want her first day of honest work in a long time to be spoiled.

"This Sesshoumaru heard and understood you the first time. I bought things for Kanna, not you." He said smugly, proud to have managed to go around her wishes. He purposely ignored her last comment as he was surprised how slightly true it sounded to him. _'Increasing Kagura's debt would be a way to keep her by my side longer... then again I manipulated her enough.'_

"What did you mean anyway?" She wondered, the answer soon given when the dog demon opened the door and Kagura was greeted by a playpen filled with toys set on the living room floor.

"What is all this?" She asked in shock.

"There is plenty more." He said with a satisfied smile as he walked towards the guest bedroom.

_'For once Jaken did as instructed. Maybe he is not as incapable as I thought.'_ The dog demon thought as he took in the brand new white crib placed next to the bed.

"Since you are going to be staying here, I believe making your stay as comfortable for your daughter as possible would be for the best" The dog demon explained his reasoning.

_'That bastard's too good. How can I refuse if all this stuff is for Kanna and not me?'_ Kagura thought unnerved.

"When did we establish that? I never said I was staying here indefinitely. What are you going to do with all these baby stuff when Kanna and I are gone anyway? You really shouldn't have bought all this." Kagura said matter-of-factly.

"This Sesshoumaru is smarter than you give me credit for; instead of buying them I rented them." He answered with a shrug as he walked back to the living room to settle down the now awakened Kanna in the brand new playpen.

_'Maybe I should lie to the witch less...'_ The dog demon told himself as he realized he had once more altered the truth. He had in fact bought all the items and not rented them._'In any case it is not as if the witch and her daughter will be leaving any time soon. At least if I have anything to do with it.'_

"Okay fine. Just know that we'll move out as soon as I've put enough money aside to be settled down." Kagura said wanting to have the last word.

"It is an interesting change not to have you argue as much as usual." Sesshoumaru remarked with a sigh. He then took out his wallet and fished out a few bills.

"Shut up you jerk! I protest only when necessary." Kagura shot back amused not able to keep off her cherry red lips a small smile.

As Sesshoumaru handed her the money she raised an eyebrow in surprise and questioned "What's that for?"

"Your dress. I returned it." He answered her.

"I am not taking that money. You already spent way too much on me." The wind sorceress said raising her hands in protest.

"Back to protesting? You are so predictable. Why don't we compromise and you can use the money to buy us a nice dinner" Sesshoumaru proposed. He had anticipated Kagura's reaction and had therefore created an alternate plan._'Not to mention that we have to celebrate her first day on the job. Moreover Kagura will not have to cook dinner tonight, which is definitely a plus.'_

"A dinner for 300 dollars? Must be in some fancy restaurant" Kagura said with a scoff.

"Yes. I even made reservations for us. If we leave in a few minutes we can make it in time." Sesshoumaru informed her as he looked down as his wrist watch.

"You are incredible." Kagura remarked on a mocking tone.

_'He had it all planned out? That man is unbelievable. Every time I think I have him figured out, he goes and does something completely unexpected. Like buying Kanna all this stuff or kissing me back'_ The wind sorceress thought with a small flush on her cheeks.

"So I have been told." The dog demon agreed with a proud smile as he nodded to Kagura.

"Ugh you're full of it." Kagura then remarked even if a small smile could not help but form on her lips.

"So you say, but it does not seem to bother you that much" He threw over his shoulder as he started walking away. The dog demon lowered himself in a crouch next to Kanna who was actively trying out all her new toys. The little girl looked over to him and smiled brightly hugging a white plush toy to her chest before saying a warm "Thank you."

"Smug bastard" Kagura muttered under her breath. She did have a smile on her lips, which mirrored her daughter's.

Despite his usual restraint and the fact that it did not show on his face, a nagging voice remarked to Sesshoumaru that him buying things for Kagura and her daughter was his gift to them, but the grateful smiles of the wind sorceress and her daughter were the best gifts he could ever have.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Seems like Sesshy is not willing to see Kagura and Kanna leave. Before you ask, no he's not trying to buy Kanna's affection. He's just being a nice guy. We'll see how the dinner will go in **Dinner for three?**

Dear readers if you haven't yet, please go check out my new mini fanfic Two brothers. It's quit suspenseful and I'm sure you'll like it.


	20. Dinner for three?

_**Chapter 20: Dinner for three?**_

A/N: It's been a while since I posted a long chapter, so here you go guys. I know I'm going to get some interesting reviews after this chapter, so I can't wait. Lol.

**Killersupergirl** (If you're so eager to see the two of them getting together... well we'll see how you feel after this chapter.)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**Klv** (Sesshoumaru is afraid of Kagura's reaction if he simply flaunts his money in front of her... and he's kind of right. We'll go more into that later on in the story.)

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

**Foxfire7**

**ALLheartsOnfraya**

**DeathAngel69**

**Krad**

**Kiari13 (Congrats on leaving the 250th** **review!)**

**ArtemisdelaLune** (Who wouldn't warm up to Kagura? Of course she's going to make lots of friends, but is a new boyfriend in her future? We'll see. I'm glad my writing is sappy yet not clichÃ©, just what I'm going for lol. :) Lastly I love long reviews, and I love PMing *hint hint* lol.)

**Sesshkagluv** (Inuyasha and Kagome are too cute together, so it was easy to see they are together. On the other hand, I think it's harder for Kagura to see what's under her nose.)

**Ur mom** (Thanks for the support. I just love getting new reviewers.)

_On _

**Zetsuii** (Sesshoumaru is very good at getting what he wants... well most of the time lol.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"Ugh you and your ideas. Going to a fancy restaurant? Do I have to remind you I have nothing to freaking wear?" Kagura complained as she glared at her friend and house mate. Her crimson eyes then lowered to look at the casual outfit, consisting of jeans and a sweater she had put on to go to the office the same morning.

"I have given you a credit card, use it." The dog demon retorted on an exasperated tone as he looked at Kagura from the comfort of his couch. "Besides, you look good; there is no need for you to change."

Kagura blushed slightly, uncomfortable with the dog demon's compliment. She then walked past him and picked up her daughter from her brand new playpen courtesy of Sesshoumaru before asking "Can we take Kanna with us?"

"Of course. It had never crossed my mind to leave her behind. Not to mention that she will be able to try out..." He trailed off as he stood up and walked over to the entrance hall to retrieve a box. "Her car seat." He then continued as he walked back inside the living room. "Before you roll your eyes or snap at me, remember I merely have Kanna's safety in mind. Now get up and get in the car. I do not wish to lose my reservation."

"Can you at least give me the time to pick up my purse?" Kagura asked with a glare as she picked up Kanna and their coats before following after the dog demon who was already halfway out of his penthouse.

* * *

"Will you be requiring... a high chair?" The maÃ®tre d' asked the two demons facing him, doing his best to keep in a judgmental snort. To his horror he could already picture the mess the pale haired toddler would be sure to create in the distinguished posh establishment he worked in.

"Obviously and be quick." The dog demon ordered.

"Please follow me." The restaurant employee then said unenthusiastically. Even though he did not relish it, he did bring Kagura, Sesshoumaru and Kanna to the best table available. After all he did know a rich client when he saw one...

"Bald jerk" Kagura muttered under her breath referring to the judgmental maÃ®tre d, as she finished strapping Kanna in her high chair.

Her comment caused Sesshoumaru to chuckle gently from behind his menu. At noticing his reaction the wind sorceress said "You dog demons' sense of hearing is too good for your own good."

"Indeed. It sometimes makes your habit of constant talking tiring." He remarked with an unreadable expression on his face as he buried his nose into the list of delectable meals offered.

"You jerk. That's not true. I do not talk that much But this time I will be the better person and am not even going to argue with you on this one. I am anyway too busy looking at the outrageous dishes on this menu. Not to mention that we're here to have fun and relax, right?" The wind sorceress said with a smile.

_'Is he trying to tease me? He surely couldn't be trying to_ flirt_with me... could he?'_ The wind sorceress thought feeling her cheeks burn.

"Yes. Fun and relaxation" He echoed thoughtfully._'I am at least looking forward to the_ fun_part.'_

To his surprise Kagura leaned over their table, offering him a much appreciated accidental view of her cleavage. Taking advantage of his surprise due to her sudden _display_, she quickly and effortlessly slid the restaurant's menu out of his fingers and sat back into her seat.

"You can use my menu. After all I should know the prices since I am buying dinner, don't you agree?" She smirked giving to Sesshoumaru the menu the maitre d' had given her when he had seated them earlier.

_'She is familiar with this practice?'_ The dog demon wondered in surprise. He was shocked to see that Kagura was aware that in this particular restaurant, as in some other luxurious establishments, only the man, who was expected to pay for the dinner, was handed a menu containing the prices. On the other hand the woman only received a menu with the list of items.

"Hum so you are keeping true to your word. It is quite a commendable quality in people." Sesshoumaru mused with a small smile.

"What is up with you lately? You're acting weird. All these compliments you throw at me, you're smiling and stuff... If I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to flirt with me or something." Kagura remarked lightly with an uncomfortable chuckle. She noticed the dog demon's sharp and heavy golden eyes peeking at her from over his menu, the intensity of his gaze made her shiver more than any word he could have spoken to dissuade her.

_'Is the witch's question suggesting she would_ want_me to flirt with her?'_ He wondered amusement and pleasure flicking briefly in his golden eyes.

"What makes you believe that? Your own wishes?" Sesshoumaru said on an unconcerned tone, in truth trying to know if Kagura would be favorable to some sort of _development_ in their relationship.

"Good evening. My name is Keiko and I will be your waitress tonight. Can I start you with something to drink? Or maybe you are ready with your order?" A pretty redhead waitress asked them as she stood next to their table. Her sudden intrusion prevented any type of sharp response Kagura could have given Sesshoumaru in order to dispel or ease the suddenly tense atmosphere between them.

"Oh you're so cute." The waitress then cooed as she spotted Kanna. The young human than deposited a piece of paper and a pen in front of the toddler in order to entertain her. "If I may suggest so, I'm sure your daughter would love the vegetarian fettuccine Alfredo" Keiko said with a warm smile.

"Would you like that Kanna-chan?" Kagura asked her daughter. The little girl bobbed her head up and down in assent. "Okay, so she'll have that, and I'll have the salad sp..."

"No you won't." Sesshoumaru suddenly intervened. "I told you, you are too thin. Therefore you will not be eating _grass_. The witch will have the filet mignon with some sauce au poivre, accompanied with the mushroom risotto. As will I, my meat needs to be extremely rare, hers medium well. We will also be having a bottle of Moet champagne and some warm, not hot, _warm_ milk for the child" After giving their order the dog demon closed his menu, ignoring Kagura's bulging eyes in fury.

"I will bring your drinks as fast as possible." The waitress said addressing a charming smile at the handsome silver haired demon as she walked away.

"Whoever gave you the right to order for me?" Kagura snapped.

"Keep your voice down, we are in public." The dog demon reprimanded her with a slight frown.

"Leave me alone. I can act as inappropriately as I want, I am buying this freaking dinner after all, am I not?" She responded sticking her tongue out to prove her point. The dog demon shook his head with a sigh at her childish behavior.

"That champagne better get here quick" Kagura muttered under her breath as she leaned to the side to observe her daughter who was busy drawing three figures.

* * *

"I have to give it up to your taste, dinner's pretty good." Kagura said as she took some more of her meat, her delicate fingers working her eating utensils with grace.

Even if Sesshoumaru did not mention it, he was greatly impressed by Kagura's table manners. She ate quite differently than she did at home, taking her time to savor the food with perfect manners, and using the right cutlery.

_'It is true that she used to be an escort. This would force her to have good table manners.'_ The dog demon thought surprised the thought had not occurred to him before. _'Then again I do not like thinking about the life she had before. The Kagura that matters is the one I have come to know.'_

Despite the fact that the wind sorceress had never enjoyed fancy restaurants, this dinner felt quite different from when she was forced to accompany men out. With Sesshoumaru she was having fun, and did not even notice time go by. On the other hand when she had to 'work' for Naraku, the wind sorceress could not wait to be freed from her obligations and rush home to her daughter.

The dark haired demoness shook her head, trying to rid herself from her disturbing memories. She looked up from her plate to look at Sesshoumaru, and suddenly felt at peace and secure. To her dismay he somehow had the ability to chase away even the deepest darkest memories of her time with Naraku. With a smile, meaning to have a little fun, she recalled what she had meant to mention to her friend earlier.

"Your brother is so dating his secretary." The wind sorceress commented as she took some of her delicious risotto, a moan of pleasure escaping her throat.

"I had a feeling this might be happening. How interesting, this explains some of his strange behavior as of late. After all we do have a no dating policy in the company.." Sesshoumaru answered cutting some of his rare meat.

"What does that mean? People working together can's be together? Who could create such a stupid rule?" The wind witch scoffed in surprise.

"That would be my father." Sesshoumaru answered as he continued eating, completely undisturbed.

"Oh. I didn't mean to disrespect; I know how much you look up to him." She said apologetically.

"No that's okay. On this regard father was quite hypocritical. I do not know if I mentioned it, but Inuyasha and I are half brothers. We do not share the same mother. Hum guess where did my father meet my half brother's mother, Izayoi?" Sesshoumaru asked with a shrug.

"At the office?" Kagura supplied as she leaned to the side to wipe some creamy sauce from her daughter's pale cheek.

"Yes. She used to be his secretary before becoming the second Mrs. Takahashi." Sesshoumaru said trying to keep back his usual bitterness. Even though it had happened years earlier, and that he did now understand why any man would run away from his mother, the dog demon still had a hard time when thinking back to his parents' divorce.

"Oh really? What's up with you Takahashi men and your secretaries?" Kagura asked with a chuckle.

"Indeed" He agreed his golden eyes staring right into hers. Kagura averted her gaze, feeling a little hot and uncomfortable. His sudden remark created many possibilities and fantasies in her mind...

_'I don't think Sesshoumaru feels that way about me. Seriously it's the restaurant setting that's getting to my head. We're_ not_on a date, even if it seems like one. No we're friends enjoying a celebratory dinner together, and that's all'._ She thought with a blush as she drained the rest of her second glass of champagne; angry she could have even thought otherwise.

"I understand we're celebrating me starting to work for you, but are you trying to get me drunk Mr Takahashi?" Kagura asked as she watched the dog demon refill her champagne flute very generously.

"And why would I do that for?" He asked on a husky voice, not willing to look at Kagura anymore, averting his gaze to Kanna who was done eating and was now busy playing with some leftover pasta in her plate.

_'The witch looks positively delectable blushing like this. I am sure she would look no different if she had been kissed.'_ Sesshoumaru thought smiling lightly, giving an appreciative quick glance at Kagura's red dusted cheeks. The alcohol and the daring nature of her thoughts had brought an involuntary flush to her cheeks, which he found irresistible.

"You tell me..." Kagura retorted to his question.

"Will you be having some desert?" Their waitress, Keiko, asked as she approached their table.

_'Why is she always appearing every time I'm getting to Sessh? And did she just put some make up on?'_ Kagura thought with a frown as she looked at the now glossy pink lips of their waitress, who was smiling brightly at Sesshoumaru.

"No thanks. My _husband_, daughter and I are good. Now, we'd like the check so we can get out of here." The wind sorceress said trying and failing to mask the anger in her voice. She did do her best not to outwardly snarl at their waitress.

"Of course _ma'am_, I'll be right back" The young red haired human said as she hurried away failing to mask her upset.

"You need to learn how to control yourself in the presence of other women. Lying and snapping at them? If I did not know better Kagura, this Sesshoumaru would think you are jealous." He breathed out a smirk threatening to appear on his lips..

"Are you kidding me? Pfft! To be jealous of these stupid women who seem to love throwing themselves at you, I'd first have to be interested in you, which of course I'm _not_. I told you before, I'm just a concerned _friend_ looking out for you. Until I find a woman _worthy_ of you, there's no way I'm letting any of those gold digging vultures get to you." The wind sorceress scoffed with bravado.

The wind sorceress looked up into Sesshoumaru's eyes and did not appreciate the intense look dancing in his golden orbs. _'Did he buy what I just said?'_ She wondered. _'Maybe I should ask him_ that_question...'_

Having finally found her resolve, Kagura then proceeded to say something that had been weighing on her mind for the past few days. She was eager to know what Sesshoumaru would think about it. _'I guess it's the make it or break it part...'_

"Anyway seeing how my last relationship ended, I am so not about to go into dating anyone. I think being single sounds about good right now." She declared faking a an unconcerned tone. Once she finished talking, she looked into Sesshoumaru's eyes trying to gauge his reaction, but his face was as blank as the first day he had met her.

_'He looks just like an ice bock. I'm not surprised I didn't get any reaction from him... I knew he didn't think about me_ that_way. Gotta stop having high hopes girl.'_ She berated herself.

"Don't you think it's for the best?" Kagura asked him, probing for an answer, trying to once more push him for at least the smallest of reactions.

_'Why is the witch so eager to let me know that? Could she be trying to issue a warning? Is it possible that Kagura is aware of my attraction to her?'_ Sesshoumaru wondered worriedly. Even if his inner turmoil was not showing on his face.

To Kagura's anger before the dog demon could answer, their waitress appeared with the check. Without even looking at the bill, the dog demon dropped the money Kagura had refused to accept from him earlier next to the bill. He then stood up and released Kanna from her high chair before turning to face Kagura, who had also stood up.

"Since you asked for my honest opinion I will give it. I believe that as things stand, you should not be dating anyone." As soon as the dog demo answered, he paid attention to keep his back to Kagura. It would after all be troublesome to him if she got to see how saying this sentence aloud did cost him.

To her dismay, Kagura was disappointed by his answer, she had expected, no hoped, for Sesshoumaru to answer differently.

_'I guess I really was wrong about him...'_ She thought with a sigh.

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the subject matter, the wind sorceress looked for a way to stir the conversation in a different, safer direction. She then paid a closer look to the cash Sesshoumaru had deposited on the table and commented, masking her vehemence as best she could, which was not that well "Now that's a generous tip. Is it because that waitress was so into you?"

"Oh was she? I did not notice." The dog demon lied as he walked towards the parking lot. He had noticed their waitress's warm smiles and apparent attraction to him, but did not intend to act on it.

"You liar! She was just about to throw herself at you. I'm sure that had it not been for the posh side of this place, she would have slipped you her number on a napkin." The wind sorceress snapped as she followed after Sesshoumaru out of the restaurant.

"Maybe my eyes were too busy somewhere else to notice her..." He trailed off as he bent over to place Kanna in her brand new car seat.

_'Is he talking about me? He gives off so many conflicting signs. Something is officially wrong with him!'_ Kagura thought in amazement as she watched Sesshoumaru carefully strap her sleepy daughter in.

"Sesshoumaru, are you sure you're okay?" Kagura suddenly asked him after the two of them settled in his black luxury car.

"It is rather I who should ask this question, for you are acting quite strangely tonight. Asking me advice on your love life, lashing out on a poor defenseless human waitress simply because she supposedly was interested in me ..." Sesshoumaru interrupted himself to start his car before continuing. "As I said before, if I did not know any better, I would really think you are _jealous_." He repeated his earlier words, working hard to keep a satisfied smile off his lips.

"Me jealous? You wish! I haven't done anything to lead you on, while you're the one trying to seduce me. Taking care of my daughter, buying all this stuff for us, not to mention helping me out and going out of your way to make me your secretary. Maybe you're more like your father and your brother than you care to admit. Well you should know that you're wasting your time because I am not interested in you." Kagura retorted angrily, the lie burning her as it left her tongue.

She did not know why, but she felt as if her remarks had hurt the dog demon more than he would ever admit. He was staring straight in front of him, his fingers clasping the wheel of the car tightly as if extremely angry. Seeing the anger, and maybe hurt, in Sesshoumaru's eyes, the wind witch wanted to apologize, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Not everything is a game of seduction. Simply because I am helping you does not mean that I am interestingin_you_. It may be hard to believe, but not every man wants to sleep with you, Kagura."

" Maybe I simply wish to be your friend." The dog demon said on an edgy tone, the only indication of his anger and the fact that some of his words rang false to him.

_'Who am I kidding? I want the witch... badly'_ The dog demon said as his eyes quickly shifted to Kagura's face. She was looking out the window feeling shameful.

"Sorry I didn't mean to offend you..." She trailed off shocked by his vehemence.

"It is alright." He answered with a sigh, feeling bad for losing control earlier.

The two of them stayed in silence, not speaking a word until they reached home.

_'Sessh is right anyway, I shouldn't be seeing anyone. I have to focus on Kanna since I'm all she's got left. Instead of thinking about my love life, I should be thinking only about my daughter. Anyway Kanna is the only one I can truly count on.'_ Kagura thought feeling a sharp ache in her chest at remembering Shinichi's betrayal.

What pained, even scared her the most was the indescribable feeling that something had shifted during dinner between Sesshoumaru and her, and Kagura felt nothing would ever be the same for the two of them.

_'I just hope we'll still be able to get along. I value our friendship too much to lose it over my stupid behavior.'_ Kagura thought sadly.

**To be continued...**

A/N: A little cat and mouse game never hurt. Each trying to find out the other's feelings... The next chapter will be named **Office space.** While waiting for next week's chapter why not go check out the latest one shot in my collection _Stories of wind and crescent moon_?

Here's he summary: _The demon's bride__:_ **AU** Forced to find a bride to inherit his father's kingdom, demon prince Sesshoumaru goes to earth. There he meets Kagura, who he enlists to help in his quest. Sessh/Kagu oneshot.


	21. Office space

_**Chapter 21: Office space**_

A/N: I am sure you're all very glad for the early update (or I at least hope so lol). This will be a long chapter, so brace yourselves. How will things turn out next for our fave couple?

**Killersupergirl** (Let's just say that Kagura's mouth works faster than her head. Maybe things will get better.)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**Klv** (Lol. You're right, Kanna is better behaved. Ooh and that was actually a very nice saying.)

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

**Foxfire7**

**ALLheartsOnfraya**

**Krad**

**Kiari13**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**Kaze Tsukai No Kagura**

**Soojinyeh**

**Mee** (Here's your update. Thanks for the support. I really love getting new reviewers.)

_On _

**Zetsuii** (Oh don't be too hard on Kagura and Sesshy. Realizing your true feelings and speaking about them isn't easy. Oh and actually my other story two Brothers is completed and posted)

**Sovereignty (x2)** (Who said Sesshy would have to wait until the end of the story to get near Kagura? Well we'll see how these two progress.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"I checked your schedule, and you only have one meeting today. With the people from B-bags" Kagura informed her boss as she stood in front of his desk. She still felt like the conversation they had the previous night was impacting their interactions, which had turned from friendly and teasing to frosty and almost non-existent.

"You can leave, that is all" Sesshoumaru answered as he picked up his pencil and resumed working on his sketches.

"Okay enough of that shit. I know you're my boss, but you're also my friend, so don't dismiss me like that." Kagura said crossing her arms over her chest. _'I miss the way we used to have fun together at work.'_

"Will that be all?" The dog demon asked without lifting his eyes from the piece of paper he was working on.

"I said enough!" Kagura snapped as she sat down in one of the chairs facing his desk. "I know that yesterday night I was not... very nice, to say the least, and that I was wrong and quite unfair to you." _'Not to mention lying blatantly._' She added to herself.

"I'm not used to men doing stuff for me not just to... you know... sleep with me. I've also never had a friend, especially a male friend..." She explained awkwardly trying to form some sort of apology, hoping to reconcile with her friend.

"How many times will I have to tell you I am not like these people? Your lack of faith in me is becoming tedious" Sesshoumaru said doing his best to mask the extent of his irritation.

"Yeah well I thought Shin was different, and see where that took me." Kagura remarked with a snort. Her words created an uncontrollable surge of fury to go through Sesshoumaru. Its intensity took him by surprise and made him snap in two the pencil he had in his hand.

"Of all people you compare me to _him_? I am nothing like this bastard!" Sesshoumaru growled. Despite his usual reserve, he could not hide his pain at her comment.

_'How dare the witch compare me to a man who used and betrayed her? When all I ever did was protect her and Kanna, care for them and do my best to help them.'_ He grumbled to himself before discarding the ruined pencil. Without saying a word he took out another one from his desk's drawer and resumed his drawing as if nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it like this. You're nothing like him, I know that. It was just a way of speaking...not the best, but still..." Kagura defended herself. _'Great! Way to go Kagura. Making him angrier is a fantastic way to apologize!'_

Realizing she had offended her friend when in truth she had started this conversation to make up with him, the wind witch stood up, and rounded his desk to stand next to him.

"Sesshoumaru..." Kagura called his name trying to get his attention, but he did not lift his head, nor reacted to her movement.

_'Oh damn it! Not only is he_ _not listening to me, but now he won't even look at me. I am so not having any of that shit. Since yesterday he's been acting so strangely. He sends me so many mixed_ _messages;_ _it makes me want to pull my hair out. I mean he kissed me back, then he flirted with me, but know he won't even speak to me?... Then again to be fair, I wasn't very nice to him yesterday night, and I may kind of deserve a cold shoulder... That may be, but he has already been mad at me for long enough and should make up with me already.'_ The wind sorceress thought determined to repair things between the two of them.

She then took his hand in hers and squeezed it, forcing him to stop his drawing. Ignoring the clear protest in his eyes, Kagura then took his sketch out of his hand and put it on the desk. To his shock she then sat on his lap and propped her feet on his desk.

"Witch? What are you doing?" Sesshoumaru hissed feeling extremely uncomfortable. The fact that she was so close to him, her skin brushing his, and that her sweet scent was tickling his nose was almost unbearable.

_'Damn her, why does she_ _have_ _to tempt me so? I bet it is because I claimed not to be attracted to her.'_ Sesshoumaru said breathing deeply to calm down his raging senses.

"Aw come one stop pouting. Just so you know, I won't move until you say you accept my apology for yesterday and what I said about you and Shin. You also have to say that we're cool. Of course you've got to mean it." Kagura managed to choke out despite the fact that feeling his warm breath on the back of her neck made delightful shivers run down her spine and her heart beat wildly.

Trying to make herself more comfortable, which was hard considering that Sesshoumaru's chair was obviously not designed to support more than one person, Kagura made a little wiggle. The movement caused Sesshoumaru's breath to catch in his throat and made him completely forget the words of protest he had meant to say. Out of instinct, not wanting Kagura to fall, he snaked his right arm around her waist holding her and at the same time backing her against his chest.

_'I'm sure it's what they call sweet torture. But just for me, after all he's not interested...'_ She thought sadly to herself.

"Fine, you win." He interrupted himself to gulp. "You are forgiven, and as far as this Sesshoumaru is concerned yesterday night or this morning for that matter never occurred. Now get off me." He ordered giving her a small nudge.

"Keh! Hey bastard where's you secretary? Why isn't she.." Inuyasha asked as the threw open the door to his brother's office

"What the fuck?" The hanyou then asked in amazement as he saw his brother comfortably seating with his secretary splayed on his lap, encircled in his warm embrace..

"I am not surprised; I knew there was a reason why our dear boss was so adamant in hiring the wind goddess. But Sesshoumaru, really. your desk? It's quite kinky. Me like it. I think you just realized a huge fantasy of mine, you big dog." Miroku said appreciatively as he too took in the scene Sesshoumaru and Kagura offered.

"Don't go fantasizing pervert, it's not what you think. Haven't you ever seen two friends hanging out?" Kagura snapped as she messily got to her feet after the dog demon released her from his arm lock. She found her legs to be a little wobbly and her knees weak, which caused her to lightly curse under her breath.

"Well you've got to finish your project on the B-bags account, so I'll get rid of these two for you." She said as she smiled to the dog demon. "Come on boys, let the big boss work." Without another word she dragged along Miroku and Inuyasha and with a wave at her friend, Kagura left.

_'Good God this woman will be the death of me.'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a groan still remembering the feel of Kagura's body against his. He marveled at the fact that he had been able to keep his hands to himself. _`The_ _witch is lucky I have no blood ties to Miroku...'_ He thought dragging a tired hand over his face.

* * *

"Hey Kagura, where are you going? Do you want to have lunch with me?" Kagome asked as she ran into the wind sorceress in one of the office's corridors.

"On my way to check on my daughter, and maybe later." She answered as she came to a stop.

"Don't take it the wrong way, but maybe you shouldn't... well check on Kanna so much. She's in great hands at the nursery. Maybe she would be able to have more fun with her friends if her mom didn't go see her all the time." The young human said with a helpful smile.

"Are you telling me what's best for my daughter?" Kagura asked with blazing crimson eyes. _'Who does she think she is?'_

"No of course not. I just thought..." Kagome trailed off the corners of her mouth going downwards. She was saddened at the prospect of Kagura being mad at her.

_'Then again maybe she's right. Perhaps I should let Kanna get accustomed to being without me, and make friends on her own. She is growing up, and doesn't need for her mother to be at her side all the time.'_ The wind sorceress thought with a sigh. "Well it's fine. I get what you meant." Kagura said with a sigh.

"I have two questions for you though. Say Kagome do you have a car? And where can I find a mall around here?" The wind sorceress asked with a sigh.

"Yes. And about ten minutes away. Why?" The miko asked slightly surprised.

"Well, I've got a credit card to use, and some frustration to let out. So let's go!" The wind sorceress said hurrying towards the elevator with Kagome in tow.

* * *

"Nice shops you just showed me. I must admit I had a great time" Kagura told Kagome.

The two of them were sitting at a terrace enjoying sandwiches and salads for lunch. Several shopping bags were at their feet, proof of the many purchases they had made, or rather that Kagura had made.

"So Inuyasha told me about you and Sesshoumaru. I truly never thought he had it in him to settle down with someone. He's been alone for so long, so it's great that he has you." The young human said with a sweet smile as she took a large bite out of her tuna sandwich.

"I don't know what your dumbass boyfriend said, but Sessh and I aren't a couple." Kagura informed her with a shrug. _'Not even close to that.'_ She mentally added regretfully as she sipped some soda.

"Inuyasha isn't my boyfriend..." Kagome protested almost chocking in shock.

"Yeah right save it. I won't tell anyone, and just to you know, Sessh already knows and he won't do anything about it." The wind sorceress said with a chuckle.

"Really? Oh I'm so relieved and glad. Having to hide was really taking its toll on our relationship. Inuyasha really feared what Sesshoumaru would do if he found out about us. Well seems to me like being with you really mellowed our boss." Kagome breathed out in pure joy and relief. _'I'm sure Inuyasha will be glad to know we don't have to hide anymore. That means I can even rub my_ _hanyou's_ _cute ears in public!'_ She thought a grin on her lips.

"How many times will I have to tell you? _We. Are. Not. Together_! If you must know he's not interested." _'Shit why in the hell did I just tell her_ _that?_ _She just got on my nerves and it came out.'_ Kagura thought unnerved.

"I don't believe this. Have you taken a look at yourself? Any guy over the age of sixteen would be attracted to you. You're gorgeous. I mean I'm seriously so jealous of you." Kagome complimented her with a smile.

"Hum I await with impatience the day people will start referring to my brain instead of my body." Kagura said sadly memories of her years under Naraku's tyranny playing in her mind

"I'm so sorry Kagura. I didn't mean to say you were unintelligent." The young human said feeling embarrassed. "Besides Sesshoumaru not being interested in you? I don't buy it. You should see the way he looks at you and..."

"Don't worry about it." Kagura suddenly cut her, not willing to have this conversation with her. "No worries. Come on let's hurry back to the office before those Takahashi men go crazy without us." The wind sorceress said as she took to her feet and took as many shopping bags before heading towards Kagome's car, with the miko in tow.

* * *

"You seem nervous." Kagura remarked as she observed the dog demon from over his desk.

"I am not" Sesshoumaru stubbornly disagreed. "Don't you have anything better to do, like answering phone calls from your office maybe?"

"I'm still on my lunch break." Kagura informed him with a shrug. The truth was that she wanted to make sure things were truly okay between them and that she was forgiven.

_'It's not because I managed to blackmail him into forgiving me that he truly did...'_ She thought to herself with a sigh.

The wind sorceress stood up and checked inside one the shopping bags she had arranged in the dog demon's office. A small smile touched her lips as she noticed she had gathered all the items needed for her '_special project_' for Sesshoumaru, which she deemed to be the perfect peace offering.

_'Even if it's going to take me forever to finish it...'_ She lamented. _'But it'll be all worth it in the end, at least I hope so.'_

"Why on earth are you using my office as a storage facility?" The silver haired demon asked without raising his eyes from the sketch he was almost done working on. He repressed a curse as he realized that his clients would be here soon.

_'I have been spending so much time caring for that unpredictable_ _witch that_ _I am behind with that damn campaign. Then again she did help me come up with a great idea. So in the end I guess we are even.'_ Sesshoumaru thought to himself as he hurriedly polished his sketch.

"Kagome is a freak of shopping. We were out for not even an hour, and even if I didn't get to buy all I wanted, we got so much stuff. There wasn't enough space in my office to put all these bags, and since your office is way bigger..." She trailed off with a smirk.

"You could have put them in the car, or have them delivered at the penthouse..." Sesshoumaru suggested with a shrug. When he looked up from his desk, he was surprised to see a frown on Kagura's face, so he quickly added "I guess it is fine since I am not planning on receiving anyone in my office today anyway."

"You know since I am your friend, you can admit it..." She chuckled gently. She was amused to see how Sesshoumaru did not dare admit aloud that he in truth did not mind her presence.

"This Sesshoumaru is not sure I understand what you mean." He said pausing from his drawing to look at her expectantly.

"Well I feel the same, but since I don't shy away from emotions, like someone I know, I'm not afraid to say it aloud. You're a good friend, if not my best friend, and I love spending time with you. Moreover not having you around is weird, considering I'm so used to having you with me now... Don't worry, since I said it for the two of us, you don't need to, so be glad." The wind sorceress smirked happily

"Do you really think I share these feelings?" He asked her with a blank face, as he resumed working. _'Since when am I this transparent?'_ He wondered slightly exasperated that Kagura could so easily see thorough him.

"Oh I know so... Shit I'll be right back" She pouted slightly as she hurried to her adjacent office where she could hear her desk phone ringing. _'Ugh why am I always interrupted when I manage to get close to Sesshoumaru?'_ She wondered, recalling their waitress's many interruptions during their dinner the previous night.

"The people from B-bags are here." Kagura announced after she came back.

"Please show them to the conference room on the 5th floor." He ordered as he gathered around the different sketches he had to present to his clients.

"Sure thing boss. Hey, don't be so tensed. The ideas we came up with are fucking great." She answered with a mocking military salute and was gone in the blink of an eye.

* * *

"So Mr. Takahashi I think you had us waiting long enough." A salt and pepper haired stern woman said as she sat straighter in her chair to sip on some of her tea. "I said I wanted my tea _sweet_. Come on girl add some sugar here." She then added addressing Kagura, a displeased frown on her face.

_'What a shrew.'_ The dog demon thought, anger boiling inside him. Seeing her blatantly disrespect Kagura unnerved him, but knowing getting angry would amount to naught, he hid his anger behind an emotionless face.

_'I am not a god damned waitress anymore!'_ The wind sorceress thought clenching her fist in anger.

One glance at Sesshoumaru however calmed her, and she complied with the B-bags representative's request. She was aware how important these clients were to her boss, and she would not do anything to compromise that. However not wanting to be bossed around anymore she then quickly exited the conference room.

"Please Mr. Takahashi present us the campaign you created: The other representative said, he was a young raccoon demon with thin glasses and a shy smile

"When women are shown in your competitors' commercial, it is as housewives, but we decided on a different approach since B-bags is known for its innovation and its daring nature. This is why the campaign I have devised would primarily target active women." Sesshoumaru started his pitch to be interrupted by the female representative.

"What exactly do you mean by _active_?" She asked cocking her head to the side.

"I was coming to that. Young, professional, on the go women. As you can see in the file, a study we conducted among both men and women showed people responded favorably to seeing professional women taking care of their children." The dog demon explained without missing a beat.

"Interesting numbers, but what exactly did you have in mind in terms of a TV commercial?" The mature woman asked, not completely satisfied by his answer.

_'This old hag is getting on my nerves'_ The dog demon thought angry that she kept on interrupting him before he could explain himself further.

"I was coming to that Mrs. Yamashita. The slogan would be _'It will never fail you'_. When it comes to the actual commercial, I will have my secretary bring the sketches I worked on." Sesshoumaru interrupted himself to get to his feet. He then reached over to the phone and said "Can you bring them over?"

After a few minutes Kagura reappeared, sketches in hands. Considering the amount of time Sesshoumaru had slaved over them, she resisted the urge to unceremoniously throw the drawings on the table in front of the annoying older woman. With a smile on her dark red lips, she carefully deposited them and was on the way out when she heard the younger representative speak.

"Oh! These looks perfect. Brilliant idea Mr. Takahashi. Your reputation was true, you have not disappointed us." Sesshoumaru nodded his head in Mr. Tanuki's direction, acknowledging his praise.

"Hum. Not bad, but casting for the test shoot will have to start soon. We are after all almost behind on schedule." Mrs. Yamashita said as she reminded Sesshoumaru of how long it had took him to come up with a viable campaign.

"Well why look further. Your beautiful secretary would be perfect for the job. It is after all just a _test_ shoot." Tanuki said readjusting his glasses in a nervous gesture.

"Who me?" The wind sorceress asked in shock as she turned around to face the three people sitting at the table.

"I agree. Why not. Anyway it is quite clear she served as your inspiration, Mr Takahashi." The old woman said with a judgmental snort not even acknowledging Kagura's surprised reaction. _'I wonder why a supposed talent like Sesshoumaru could no go look further for a model...'_ The old woman thought pursing her lips in disgust.

"And there is nothing wrong with it. The miss here is after all quite a lovely woman" The other representative of B-bags, said as he gave Kagura an appreciative once over.

"I'm not sure..." Kagura said, not keen on being talked about as if she was not in the room. Instead of lashing out, she breathed deeply and clenched her left fist tightly.

The dog demon could understand Kagura's anger; after all he as well could not stand the lecherous look Mr. Tanuki had been giving Kagura, but the dog demon also understood that in order to keep his clients, anything they wanted, he had to provide.

"Kagura wait. Why don't you give the idea some thought?" Sesshoumaru asked her with a soft gaze, trying to will her to see that making his clients happy mattered to him, but of course not as much as her well being did.

_'Hum. Sessh's in need of my help? That'd be a sure way to make him forgive me. It would also provide me an occasion to pay back Sesshoumaru for all the great things he's done for me. Should I do it?'_ Kagura wondered with a small smile.

**To be continued...**

A/N: That was a long one... When will they recognize the sexual tension between them? (If ever) What will Kagura decide? We'll see. The next chapter will be named **Opportunities**.


	22. Opportunities

_**Chapter 22: Opportunities**_

A/N: Another long chapter, guess I'm on a writing roll lol. If I missed anyone on the reviewers list, I'm sorry, but as I'm sure you've noticed the website has been acting up lately.

To everyone else thanks so much for reviewing:

**Killersupergirl** (Here's your update.)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**Klv** (When will Kagura and Sesshoumaru realize their shared attraction? Ku ku ku maybe sooner than you think...)

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

**ALLheartsOnfraya**

**Kiari13**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Hellina-Bertinalli (x4)**

**Flam1ng1c3 (x2)**

**The freak locked in ur closet**

**XxAzn HomiexX**

**Inu-midoriko**

**Crimsondawn 365**

**Mlkoolc86**

_On _

**Zetsuii** (I'm glad you like the shoot idea. Will Kagura get the part? I'm sure you can figure out the answer :] )

**Sovereignty** (Oh I'm sorry, but at least you had something to look forward to after work, no? Lol)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_After a few minutes Kagura reappeared, sketches in hands. Considering the amount of time Sesshoumaru had slaved over them, she resisted the urge to unceremoniously throw the drawings on the table in front of the annoying older woman. With a smile on her dark red lips, she carefully deposited them and was on the way out when she heard the younger representative speak._

"_Oh! These looks perfect. Brilliant idea Mr. Takahashi. Your reputation was true, you have not disappointed us." Sesshoumaru nodded his head in Mr. Tanuki's direction, acknowledging his praise._

"_Hum. Not bad, but casting for the test shoot will have to start soon. We are after all almost behind on schedule." Mrs. Yamashita said as she reminded Sesshoumaru of how long it had took him to come up with a viable campaign._

"_Well why look further. Your beautiful secretary would be perfect for the job. It is after all just a_ _test_ _shoot." Tanuki said readjusting his glasses in a nervous gesture._

"_Who me?" The wind sorceress asked in shock as she turned around to face the three people sitting at the table._

"_I agree. Why not. Anyway it is quite clear she served as your inspiration, Mr Takahashi." The old woman said with a judgmental snort not even acknowledging Kagura's surprised reaction._ _'I wonder why a supposed talent like Sesshoumaru could no go look further for a model...'_ _The old woman thought pursing her lips in disgust._

"_And there is nothing wrong with it. The miss here is after all quite a lovely woman" The other representative of B-bags, said as he gave Kagura an appreciative once over._

"_I'm not sure..." Kagura said, not keen on being talked about as if she was not in the room. Instead of lashing out, she breathed deeply and clenched her left fist tightly._

_The dog demon could understand Kagura's anger; after all he as well could not stand the lecherous look Mr. Tanuki had been giving Kagura, but the dog demon also understood that in order to keep his clients, anything they wanted, he had to provide._

"_Kagura wait. Why don't you give the idea some thought?" Sesshoumaru asked her with a soft gaze, trying to will her to see that making his clients happy mattered to him, but of course not as much as her well being did._

'Hum. Sessh's in need of my help? That'd be a sure way to make him forgive me. It would also provide me an occasion to pay back Sesshoumaru for all the great things he's done for me. Should I do it?' _Kagura wondered with a small smile._

Even if the idea of acting in the test shoot for some commercial did not really delight her, the prospect of helping out Sesshoumaru for a change was quite appealing to her.

"Sure I'll do it." The wind witch said without any hesitation.

"Fantastic! Since after today, I will be the primary liaison with the Takahashi agency, I will have to be present on the set of the shoot. That means we will be sure to see each other again." Mr Tanuki exclaimed happily. Emboldened by Kagura's favorable answer, he tried sending her a seductive smile, which she ignored since her gaze was fixed on Sesshoumaru.

"Of course you will be paid." Sesshoumaru assured Kagura. He was surprised at how quickly she had agreed. _'I truly did not believe she would be interested in such a thing.'_

_'Does he think I do everything just for money?'_ The wind sorceress wondered slightly angered, but she quickly discarded the idea. _'If anyone knows my character, it's definitely Sesshoumaru, so I know he didn't mean anything bad. I'm sure he's trying to erase my debt faster. It's either because he's eager to get rid of me, or he's just being a concerned and helpful friend. Strangely I'd go for the latter...'_

"Would it be possible having Kanna be featured as well?" Kagura asked after laying her previous doubts to rest. She figured that is she was to be busy with the shooting; she would rather have Kanna as close as possible. Even is she was becoming more trusting of other people when it came to looking after her dear daughter, the wind sorceress still felt that no one could be a better job than her.

"Kanna is her two and a half years old daughter." Sesshoumaru then supplied as he noticed the confusion of the B-bags representatives.

"Oh you have a daughter..." Mr. Tanuki said with a crestfallen expression, his red eyes suddenly shiny. _`Aw that's too bad, and I found Kagura quite attractive…'_

"I can't say I'm surprised…" Yamashita snorted under her breath. She had spoken so low, that only Sesshoumaru had heard her speak, and even with his great hearing he had had a hard time.

"Yes Kagura has a daughter; a _very_ young daughter. And Kagura to answer your question, I see no reason why not." Sesshoumaru said not appreciating Tanuki's reaction to his earlier revelation. _'If that stupid raccoon so much as thinks Kagura would be interested in him, he is gravely mistaken.'_ The dog demon silently smirked to himself.

"These are details you can work on your own. On this note, we shall take our leave. Be sure to inform Tanuki about the shoot." Mrs. Yamashita said as she got to her feet. When she reached the door, she suddenly turned around and looked at Sesshoumaru. "Oh be sure not to forget to greet me at the celebration next Saturday." Without another word, or a goodbye, she left the conference room with Tanuki in tow, his head hung low.

"Hum so that went well." Kagura remarked with a sigh. _`Strangely I could swear I've seen that old hag before.'_ The wind sorceress thought referring to Yamashita.

"Are you sure you want to do the test shoot? Even if it is only a trial run, and that it will not be featured in the media, it will be studied and surveyed by analysts from the company, and sent to randomly selected survey takers." Sesshoumaru explained meaning to make sure Kagura knew what she had just gotten herself into. "If you wish to back out, no one would blame..."

"No thanks. I knew what I was doing when I accepted, and I won't be changing my mind. Besides that shoot thingy is the least I can do for you. I don't mind at all, and I'm sure Kanna and I will have fun." She answered with a smile. "Well I better get going I have to finish taking care of some files now because later on Kagome wants to introduce me to her friend Sago."

"I am sure you mean Sango Taijiya, she is the head of security." He corrected glad to have managed not to smile nor laugh.

"Yeah yeah. Well I'll be at my desk. Let me know how the shoot will go down." She said over her shoulder as she left.

* * *

"So Sango, this is Kagura, Sesshoumaru's secretary..." Kagome started as she sat across from her good friend's desk, a magazine on her knees. The wind sorceress was sitting next to her looking a Sango as well.

_'This actually is quite an interesting test; I don't think I can wait until I get home to take it.'_ Kagome thought as she took a pen from Sango's desk and started working. _'Well it wouldn't really apply to me, but taking it would still be amusing.'_

"Kagura you're Sesshoumaru's girlfriend too, aren't you?" Sango asked with a friendly smile.

"What is it with you people? No we're just _friends..._ and house mates." Kagura defended herself with groan.

"Oh I'm sorry, it's just that Miroku said that you were. Then again I shouldn't listen to this lecher..." The head of security said an apologetic smile on her lips. With a thoughtful frown and a blush she then ran a finger across her lips. Needing to change the topic as she did not wish to upset Kagome's new friend, Sango then asked "Hum so Kagura, do you like it here?"

"Well yeah, it's a pretty great place. I have a job that's not too boring, friendly co workers; it's just a nice place overall. My daughter loves it here too." The wind sorceress answered politely. She had paid attention not to mention Sesshoumaru as she feared adding material to the rumor mill.

"Oh you have a daughter?" Sango inquired as she stood up and reached behind her to grab two ice tea bottles from the mini fridge behind her desk.

"Yes, Shippou's new best friend, Kanna" Kagome supplied with a broad smile. She had yet to finish with her test, but she did not want to appear rude, so she joined in the conversation.

"Wow you're so lucky to have such a big office; you even have a fridge and a private bathroom." Kagura observed as she appreciatively ran her eyes around Sango's office. Even though her present working space was better than any work environment she had ever had, the wind sorceress was still amazed by the room she was in.

_'On the other hand if I were Sango I'd take advantage of the space and add more decoration. The place looks kind of a little sober. Then again maybe it's just her taste and style...'_ Kagura thought to herself noticing how apart from a few picture frames, the walls of Sango's office were completely bare.

"Well as head of security I don't really get to go out of my office that much as I keep a close eye on all these monitors. There are other people working under me who also keep an eye on things, but I esteem it's my duty to do some of the surveillance myself from up here." Sango responded as she pointed to the different TV's placed against the wall. "So I'm allowed a little more comfort in my office."

"I see that's... What the hell?" The crimson eyed demoness suddenly exclaimed, startling the other two women.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked worriedly as she looked up from the magazine she was scribbling on.

"I was just surprised because of this..." Kagura trailed off as she lifted her hand in which was now a yellow furry ball.

"Oh I'm sorry, that's my cat Kirara, she tends to like to observe demons from up close. I think it's her nekomata nature." Sango apologized with a smile. As she meant to stand up to retrieve her demonic cat, she noticed that Kagura had placed Kirara on her lap and was petting her.

"No harm done, she's kind of cute that's saying a lot since I'm not really an animal person." _'Except dogs maybe...'_ Kagura thought with a smile and reddened cheeks as she gently scratched the cat behind her ears.

"Oh by the way Kagura did you have time to fill in the 'New employee information forms'? I know you're a friend of Sesshoumaru so I won't make a background check, but it's just standard procedure and all. I do security, but I'm also in charge of collecting those forms." The brown eyed human said as she nervously played with her long brown locks held in a high ponytail.

. _'Had it not been for Sesshoumaru not talking to me this morning, I wouldn't have forgotten. I guess I was just too preoccupied about our relationship... or rather_ friendship_.'_ The wind sorceress thought before suddenly wondering if things were truly okay between her and her boss. Shaking her head to rid herself of her thoughts, she then spoke "Oh yeah, I forgot about those. I left them on my desk. I can go get them."

"Oh no, you two stay and chat, I'll go get them for you." Kagome said always eager to be helpful.

"It's fine, I can get them." Kagura assured her eyeing her suspiciously.

"Don't worry about it Kagura, Kagome just wants a reason to check on her good _friend_ Inuyasha." The head of security said with a twinkle in her brown eyes.

"That's not true. Well I'll be right back." Kagome said with a red tinge on her cheeks as she quickly stood up, and disappeared from her friend's office.

* * *

"Kagura?" Sesshoumaru asked as she stepped out of his office and into the wind sorceress's working area.

He was disappointed to find it empty as he counted on speaking with her about the details for the test shoot. With a sigh he approached her desk and noticed a note.

_'Hey Sessh! As I said earlier, I'll go check on Kanna then swing by Sango's office with Kagome. Be back in a few.'_

_'The witch is taking a break..._' He remarked, hoping she had not missed any important phone calls. _'Then again it's almost the end of the day, so I doubt anyone would call.'_

The dog demon raised a surprised eyebrow as he noticed something else of interest on Kagura's desk. He picked up a pop culture magazine opened at a page of a multiple choice test. The reason of his interest was the name of the said test: _**'Are you and your best friend meant for each other?'**_

_'Is the witch thinking of our relationship?'_ He wondered a mix of pleasure and surprise going through him as he read the rest of the article.

_**'So you're into your best guy friend, now what? You're too afraid of looking ridiculous by confessing your feelings out of the blue, or you simply want to check if you two have a shot at a relationship? Then this test is for you!**_

_**1stquestion: Do you two flirt? Agree. Disagree. Don't know.**_

_**2ndquestion: Do you two touch a lot? Agree. Disagree. Don't know.**_

_**3rdquestion: Does he**_ **never**_**mention his (ex)girlfriends? Agree. Disagree. Don't know.**_

_**4thquestion: Does he often compliment you? Agree. Disagree. Don't know.**_

_**5thquestion: Does he often look at you? Agree. Disagree. Don't know.**_

Sesshoumaru's upper lip twitched in amusement as he noticed that the answer to all the questions was _Agree_. He scanned all the way to the bottom to check the answer.

_**'Woohoo! Go for it girl. He's all yours. Your friend and you have a clear romantic future together. For sure that guy sees you as more than a friend and shares the feelings you have for him. There's no time like the present, so go get him**_ **now**_**!'**_

The dog demon could not prevent a small frown from marring his face. He knew he desired Kagura _very_ much, but he was not sure how she felt towards him. _'The fact that she took the time to take such a test means she at least thinks of me as more than a friend. She did say she was not interested in me when we went to dinner... but I wouldn't put it past her to lie'_ He reasoned a smug smirk on his lips.

"'_Are you and your best friend meant for each other?'_ Now that is an interesting test. I had no idea Kagura was into these kinds of things..." Miroku said thoughtfully as he read over Sesshoumaru's shoulder.

"Keh! Wouldn't surprise me if Kagome was the one who gave it to her; the wench LOVES those type of stupid tests. Actually she loves tests in general. Surprising since from what I've heard she wasn't the best of students, especially in math..." Inuyasha remarked crossing his arms over his chest.

Little did the hanyou know that his secretary had actually been the one to take the test and had then forgotten it on Kagura's desk, which had caused Sesshoumaru's confusion.

"Hum what a lucky dog you are, this is proof enough that the wind goddess _is_ interested in pursuing a relationship with you." The dark haired human said with a satisfied smile.

"Feh! As if there was any reason to doubt that, didn't you see how they were all over each other this morning?" The half demon asked referring to the scene Miroku and he had walked in on when Kagura had been sitting on her boss's lap.

"This has nothing to do with it. The witch merely enjoys taking liberties with this Sesshoumaru's person." He defended himself. _`Not that I truly mind…'_ He added to himself remembering with pleasure the feel of Kagura's body against his.

"So what? I took liberties with Sango and it worked. I mean earlier today I simply grabbed her and gave her the best kiss she ever had. And guess what? We're going out on our first date _tomorrow_." The purple eyed human said with a broad smug smile. In the retailing of the event, he of course emitted to mention that before accepting his invitation, the head of security had mercilessly and thoroughly beaten him.

"Feh! Get out of here! You finally got Sango to date you? I'm shocked. I guess Sessh's the only one still on the singles' list." Inuyasha said with a mocking scoff.

"Maybe, but not for long I bet." Miroku remarked lightly. "Now remember Sesshoumaru if you want the wind goddess go for it strongly. When a man wants a woman, he shouldn't be afraid or waste time. Love can not wait so unless you want Kagura to be taken away by another man, have no fear and go for it. Be direct, otherwise she might reject you." The human's grin quickly disappeared as Sesshoumaru glared murderously at him.

"You fool! Not long ago were you not calling me your _master_ and begging me to take you as a disciple to teach you how to get women? Do you truly believe I now would be interested in taking any type of advice from you?" Sesshoumaru asked flinging some of his silver hair over his shoulder. Despite himself he could not help but remember the interested look Tanuki had given Kagura during his meeting with the B-bags representatives.

_'Why am I feeling this... possessive towards Kagura? It is not as if there is anything going on between the two of us.'_ Sesshoumaru tried scolding himself. _'Then again I have claimed her under my protection, so my reaction is not that out of the ordinary for a concerned friend.'_ The dog demon tried reasoning, even if a little voice inside him reminded him that he wanted to be more than friends with Kagura...

"Well you never know. I am just saying sometimes you have to be more direct with women and create your own opportunities to get them..." Miroku started but another sharp glare from his dog demon boss made him shut his mouth. It was merely the knowledge that Sesshoumaru would not really hurt him, at least not in front of Inuyasha that prevented Miroku from fleeing.

Taking pity on his best friend, the hanyou decided to change the subject. "So who're you going to take as a date for the gala?" Inuyasha asked his brother. "Even though you received your invitations a while ago, you do realize it's taking place next week, right?"

The dog demon almost growled in annoyance. Due to his position of CEO he was required to attend _the gala_, which was a reunion of the major people working in the advertisement industry in the city. Not attending to represent the Takahashi agency was not even an option.

"I will go with Kagura." _'At least she might be able to make this dreadful evening enjoyable...'_ The dog demon tried to reason his choice.

"See that's a golden opportunity there! And to think you were trying to act as if you weren't interested by her. You old dog." Miroku said with a smile.

"Do you have a death wish?" Sesshoumaru asked as he cracked his knuckles loudly.

"He he I think I'm gonna go." Without another word the young human was out the door.

"Pfft what a coward..." The half dog demon said mockingly as he walked out, a grin on his lips. _'The wench is going to love this new development...'_ He thought to himself eager to regroup with his girlfriend, and listen to her interpretation of things. Once he realized where his train of thoughts had led him, Inuyasha could not help but try to reason his thoughts. _`Ain't like I'm truly interested in the life of my bastard of a brother. It's just that seeing him struggle with his feelings is so much fun…'_

* * *

"Oh Kagura, it seems you didn't fill in the previous employer section." Sango said reviewing the paperwork the wind sorceress had just turned in to her.

"I think you mentioned working for your father..." Kagome said trying to recall where the information had come from.

_'Actually I did_ not_. It must have been Inuyasha or Miroku. Damn those two are idiots!'_ Kagura thought worriedly. _'No need to panic. I simply have to stick to the story I gave Sesshoumaru and everything will be alright. If Sessh believed me, there's no way other people could find out about the truth. Well I just hope Miroku will keep his mouth shut. Damn I'll eventually have to have a conversation with him, and make sure that he doesn't plan to reveal my past!'_

"My... father owns an escort service business and I used to work for him." Kagura said with an uncomfortable smile. _'There. That should be enough information for her. Only thinking about Naraku makes me sick, but it's not like I'll see him anytime soon.'_ She then thought trying to quell her fear.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pry... it's just standard procedure and all..." Sango mumbled her face taking on a red tinge.

"No Sango I should be the one apologizing. I had no idea, I never should have spoken... I really did not know you were a... prostitu...ah… I'm sorry... really... I..." Kagome cut herself, unable to speak more. _'I can't believe Inuyasha didn't tell me that! He made me look so dumb!'_

Feeling deeply uncomfortable and ashamed, Kagome looked over to her side and noticed that as her own, Sango's cheeks were also flaming red in embarrassment, and mortification. The two young human women had both averted their brown eyes from Kagura's piercing crimson orbs, too ashamed to look at the wind sorceress.

"It's not what you think! I was _not_ a _prostitute_!" The wind sorceress snapped angrily. "I mean...Whatever you're thinking you're wrong." She added on a calmer and friendlier tone of voice, trying to contain her shock and anger.

"Don't believe you see everything you see on TV. Not all escorts are prostitutes. My father runs a completely _legal_ agency. My job was really only a mix of acting and modeling. You have no idea how many wealthy lonely men there are out there. They are willing to pay good money only to go out on a simple date with a young beautiful woman who can make conversation. Most of the time, all I did was keep company to some nice old man during a very expensive dinner. The rest of the time I had to be a date at a client's company party and once or twice even a wedding. Not all men intend to go alone at wedding to try to pick up girls." Kagura explained faking a cheerful laugh.

"Really? All you did was accompany men to dinner and be their dates? Some men are really willing to pay for just that?" Kagome asked in curiosity and mild shock.

"I can't say I'm surprised. If Miroku wanted to invite someone to dinner and couldn't convince any woman, I could see him hiring a date." Sango answered wondering for the hundredth time why she had agreed to go on a date with her coworker.

The head of security's statement was followed by a deep silence. The slightly uncomfortable conversation left the three women busy with their own thoughts. Kagura was simply hoping no one would find out about her alteration of the truth. Sango wondered if she should not cancel her date with Miroku. Kagome despite her efforts could not stop her mind from straying to a problem she could not seem to be able to solve.

"I just don't get it." The miko murmured thoughtfully, breaking the heavy silence between the three of them.

"What is it?" Kagura questioned as she rested her crimson gaze on her new friend _'She couldn't possibly know the whole truth...!'_

_'Crap demon super hearing. I'm so stupid! You'd think I'd know better with Inuyasha and his cute puppy ears...'_ Inuyasha's secretary berated herself.

"Hum... I was just thinking about you and Sesshoumaru. Sorry, don't get mad." Kagome said apologetically.

"You really have a one track mind don't you?" The wind sorceress muttered as she scratched Kirara's stomach, as the kitten conveniently turned to rest on its back. Even is she pretended to be angry over the new topic of conversation, the wind sorceress was actually glad they had moved away from her dark past.

"I'm sorry, but it's just that I think you two fit too well together to not actually be together." Kagome said trying to explain her point of view.

"Kagome maybe you shouldn't try to push her like this..." Sango said, feeling a little embarrassed at discussing the private life of her boss and someone she barely knew. _'Poor Kagura, if Kagome gets on her case, she'll never be left alone.'_ Sango thought remembering how much her friend was pushing for her to date Miroku.

"How many times do I have to say it anyway? He's _not_ interested." The wind witch said rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Ah ha! But if he was, you would go for it, right? Then that just means you have to wait for him to give you a _sign_. It was the same with Inuyasha, I thought I would have to wait forever, but he finally invited me out. Since then we've been so happy together." Kagome said with shining brown eyes. _'That is when he's not being an insensitive jerk.'_

"Yeah right. By the time that 'sign' comes, I'll be old and gray." Kagura said on a mocking tone. "So no, I'd rather not wait."

_'Besides when did I even decide I wanted to go out with Sesshoumaru? That damn Kagome is good at getting to people... Then again to be honest I really wouldn't mind. He's a great guy, and he's great with Kanna. Maybe things could work, but is being with him worth the risk of losing our friendship and maybe even getting Kanna and me hurt?...'_

Kagura's thoughts were interrupted when the door to Sango's office was thrown open and Sesshoumaru walked in with Kanna in his arms.

"Here you are. It is time to go home and Kanna was asking after her mother." He said as his eyes rested on Kagura who had turned around to face him. The wind sorceress safely deposited Kirara on the ground before standing up. She then smiled as she walked towards her friend and her daughter.

"Before that. Here." Sesshoumaru handed to Kagura a white envelop.

She opened it and was shocked to see inside an elegant invitation to some sort of celebration taking place in the following week. She did remembered something about a gala being scribbled in Sesshoumaru's schedule for that date, but since the dog demon had not said anything about it until now, and that Kagura did not trust Mika, who had been the one to write down the reminder, the wind witch had not really paid attention to the scheduled event.

"What does that invitation has to do with me?" The wind sorceress asked cocking her head to the side in confusion.

"You shall be attending the gala with me, _as my date._" The dog demon said masking his eagerness at the prospect of going somewhere with Kagura. _`That would technically be the first time just the two of us would be going out together… not that it would be a date.'_

"Do I have the option of refusing?" She asked fingering the golden letters on the invitation card with awe.

"No." Sesshoumaru responded as he handed Kanna over to her mother. _'She better not bail on me'_

"Fine, whatever I'll go with you." She answered feigning an unconcerned shrug. "Kanna must be starving, so let's go home. Bye guys." Kagura said before kissing her daughter's forehead and walking away, a smile on her lips.

"If that isn't a _sign_ I don't know what else could be!" Kagome said loudly to Kagura, a grin on her face.

Her sudden comment made the demonss's cheeks burn red. To hide her reaction, the wind sorceress started walking faster, not keen on Sesshoumaru noticing the effect going out with him _truly_ had on her.

"Ladies." The dog demon said with a nod as he joined Kagura and walked out of Sango's office. He was confused by Kagome's parting words to the wind sorceress, but knew well enough not to interfere in 'women matters,' whatever they may be.

_'Is this really the sign I've been waiting for?'_ Kagura wondered as she felt her heart speed up as she headed towards the parking lot, Sesshoumaru not far behind her.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Hum what will Sesshy do? Will he listen to Miroku's `advice,' or not lol. Will Kagura let go of her fears and go for it? We'll see. The next chapter will be named **On the go**. I promise to all of you guys that have been missing cute little Kanna that we will see more of her next time.

I just posted a one shot called **Bittersweet memories**, so please go check it out. Here's the summary:

Summary: **AU** _When faced with sad memories, if you could go back in time and change things, would you? A Sesshoumaru/Kagura one shot. Rated T for language._


	23. On the go

_**Chapter 23: On the go**_

A/N: Ah you are all quite curious about Kagura's past, and whether the gala invitation was a sign or not. As promised this chapter will contain Kanna/Sesshoumaru scenes, rejoice!

On another note, the story is getting so much love; I'm so happy. Everyone thanks so much for reviewing:

**Killersupergirl** (Kagura's secret will be revealed... in due time lol. Oh and **Congrats on leaving the 300threview!**)

**Sychotic**

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**Klv** (Hum I didn't say something would happen, but if it did well let's talk again after this chapter...)

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**Bibliophile Nicompoop**

_On _

**Sovereignty** (If you thought Sesshoumaru was a protective puppy before, I'm looking forward to what you think of this chapter.)

**Anf600** (I love getting new reviewers :) Was Kagura misunderstanding the 'sign,' or does Sesshoumaru have a bigger plan? We'll see.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"Kanna-chan come on let's go we're going to be late." Kagura said as she grabbed her purse and walked towards her daughter who was too enthralled in playing in her playpen to really pay attention to her mother.

"Kanna? Your mother is talking to you." Sesshoumaru said as he finished arranging his tie around his neck. At hearing his deep commanding voice, the pale blond toddler raised her head from her game to gaze at him.

_'Hmpf! How come she listens to him and not me? I'm her_ mother_!'_ The wind sorceress thought slightly exasperated. "Come on baby we've got to go." Kagura repeated herself as she crouched next to her daughter's playing area in the dog demon's living room.

"I want to play." Kanna said as her dark eyes came back to the puzzle she was slowly and carefully putting together.

"Baby you'll be able to play when we come back tonight. Not to mention you'll be able to play with Shippou while Sesshoumaru and I are working." The wind sorceress smoothed a tender hand over her daughter's head.

"No. I want to _play_ now!" Kanna refused shaking her head furiously from side to side.

"I think you're becoming quite spoiled Kanna and I don't like that at all." Kagura scolded her. _`Since when doesn't she listen to what I tell her?'_

"It's fine; no need to get angry." Sesshoumaru intervened once he noticed Kagura's upset. He walked towards the two female demons, with the intention of calming the situation.

"But we'll be late for work!" The wind sorceress exclaimed with a frown.

"You know, even when my father obtained custody of me, long after he divorced my mother, I can not remember him ever taking the time to play with me; except maybe sparring on a few occasions." Sesshoumaru recalled thoughtfully.

"Either you're confessing to me you have daddy issues, or you're telling me how to raise my daughter." Kagura's intervention pulled him away from upsetting memories of his childhood.

"Neither. It is merely a suggestion to ease back." The dog demon said as he kneeled next to the two females and reached inside the playpen to help Kanna with her puzzle.

"Thank you." The pale toddler breathed out as the dog demon's clawed hand carefully placed a piece of the puzzle for her.

"Okay fine. What can I do against the two of you anyway? Sessh you better not be blaming me if you get late to your nine o'clock appointment." Kagura said with a sigh as she too reached down to help Kanna put together her puzzle. Her action caused the little girl to look up and smile at her mother.

"Kanna-chan don't think you'll always be able to get your way from now on, okay?" Kagura tried saying severely, but the pleased expression on her daughter's face made her anger evaporate. It was true that ever since they had left Naraku's house, the little girl had become more expressive, but being on the receiving end of one of the youkai toddler's rare smile was still something Kagura was not used to, which made said smiles all the more endearing.

Kagura smiled back at Kanna with a chuckle as she ruffled her daughter's hair a little. "Same goes for you mister. Truthfully Sesshoumaru I didn't think you'd be the type to enjoy these types of games, even in your youth..."

"You are wrong. I enjoy games, especially the ones requiring patience and strategy. Then again in my youth while living with my mother, I did not have anyone to play with. And when I reached my adolescent years, and lived with my father, my only game partner was Inuyasha and you can imagine how things would turn out when the two engaged in such activities..." The dog demon said as he handed to Kanna a small piece she quickly placed on her growing picture. The wind sorceress laughed all heartedly at his comment, which caused his lips to twitch in amusement as well.

"For some reason I could so picture you as the president of the chess club in high school" Kagura teased him, a devilish smirk on her cherry lips.

"This Sesshoumaru may be smart, but I was not a geek." He responded amused by her teasing.

"I was just kidding. You're way too hot to be on a high school chess team anyway." Kagura observed with a chuckle. As soon as she realized what she had said, a slight blush touched her cheeks. _'I did not just say I find him hot.'_ She thought groaning in despair. _'Sometimes I should just slap a hand over my freaking mouth before I open it...'_

"Well I actually was a member of the chess club... but I too was the captain of the basketball team." He informed her a small smirk on his lips, pretending not to have noticed the slip up, which had caused her cheeks to turn red, not that the information did not please him greatly.

"Well look at that. Congratulations Kanna-chan. You're done with your pretty puzzle baby, so we can go to work now." Feeling slightly uncomfortable at the way her conversation with Sesshoumaru was going, Kagura wasted no time to pick up her daughter and aim for the door.

_'Hum what an interesting development…'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a smirk as he got to his feet and followed Kagura out of his penthouse. He did take the time to pick up the wind sorceress's purse and set of keys, which she had forgotten to take with her in her haste to get away from him.

* * *

"So how are things going between you and Sesshoumaru? I mean with the big gala being tomorrow and all..." Kagome asked Kagura excitedly. Inuyasha's secretary and girlfriend stopped pushing Shippou's stroller to look around her.

"You know I kind of like you, as you're one of the few people I can talk with for more than five minutes without wanting to strangle them, but you are annoying me. The non existent relationship between Sesshoumaru and I is all you've been talking about for the past week, and it's really pissing me off." The wind sorceress answered dryly as she continued to walk forward while pushing her daughter's shiny new stroller, working not to let some of her anger show..

"Aw come on, you know I'm right. The two of you just belong together… Oh I love this dress. You've got great legs; this would look perfect on you." The miko exclaimed as she reached over for a short bright red evening gown on a rack.

"Ugh too short." The wind sorceress dismissed her. "Besides we're supposed to be buying lunch, so I don't see why we are shopping for clothes. Must I remind you that poor Sango, who's stuck in her office, is waiting for us to bring her food?"

"I just told you. Tomorrow is the gala and as far as I can tell you don't have a dress yet." Kagome explained the reason why she had truly dragged along the wind sorceress to the nearest mall. Meaning to make sure that Kagura would come shopping with her during their lunch break, Kagome had originally told her friend the two of them were to bring some lunch to Sango. The young human had only thrown in the idea of bringing along Kanna and Shippou to give Kagura an offer she would not be able to refuse. As much as she tried not to check on Kanna as much as before, it was still hard for Kagura to stay away from her daughter during their hours of work.

_`Bah what's a little deceiving when the goal is noble? I just want to make sure Kagura gets a dress that'd be able to knock icy Sesshoumaru off his feet!'_ Kagome thought proud of her little scheme.

"No need. His highness already picked me something to wear. I guess he simply wants to make sure I'm presentable... Besides you're already taking me to a beauty salon tomorrow afternoon for waxing, to do my nails, and to try to get something decent out of my hair." The wind sorceress remarked with a shrug as she headed towards the exit of the mall.

"Kagura, wait for me!" The miko said on a pouty tone as she rushed after her friend, rolling along Shippou.

* * *

"Okay. So I did my hair and I'm about to put my make up on, don't you think it's about damn time to give me my freaking dress?" Kagura grumbled as she stood in the doorway of Sesshoumaru's room, her daughter in her arms.

Wanting to be placed on the ground, the toddler started squirming in her mother's arms. With a sigh, Kagura bent down to deposit Kanna. As soon as she was freed the little girl rushed to Sesshoumaru's side, who himself was sitting on his bed, busy trying to decide which bow tie to wear with his dark blue tuxedo and white shirt.

"This one." Kanna said as she pointed to the red bow tie in his right hand. Even if they did not comment on it, both her mother and Sesshoumaru were very surprised she had not pointed towards the other bow tie, which was _white_.

"Thank you. It is a wise choice." The dog demon answered with a nod towards the little girl as he placed the tie around his neck. Kanna responded to his praise with a bright smile.

_`It would seem that Kanna's taste is expanding. Not to mention that she is much more expressive than before.'_ Sesshoumaru thought happily before giving the little girl's fair head a small caress. After receiving her reward, Kanna turned around to start playing with her teddy bear on Sesshoumaru's bed.

"Why are you two ignoring me?" The wind witch asked rolling her crimson eyes in annoyance. _'Then he'll complain I'm the one who's always making him late!'_

Not bothering to answer Kagura, the dog demon reached over to his closet and retrieved a familiar gown from it. "Here you go. Hurry getting dressed lest we be late."

"This is... _was_ my dress. I thought you returned it?" Kagura asked in shock, her gaze resting on the sapphire dress she had bought a few weeks ago for her big reunion date with Shinichi.

"Obviously this Sesshoumaru did not." He answered thrusting the blue gown in her arms. "Since at the time I already knew about tonight, I figured for you wearing this dress at the gala would be fitting. Besides it was a pity that you only got to wear it on a dreadful occasion. I simply thought it would be pleasing for you to make good memories in it." He explained himself with a falsely unconcerned shrug. The fact that he was paraphrasing the words of lamentation the wind sorceress had used herself when she had given him the dress to return it did not go unnoticed by her.

_'Not to mention that the dress was meant to be worn by her.'_ The dog demon thought averting his gaze from Kagura's widely opened crimson eyes.

`_Not only has he been planning on taking me out tonight for quite some time, but he also remembers what I wanted, and aims to fulfill my wish?'_ Kagura tried summarizing the situation in her mind.

"How can you be so annoying and charming at the same time?" She asked as she felt tears rise in her eyes. "You did lie to me you jerk! You said you paid for dinner with the money of the dress when you didn't even return it." She then added trying to use anger to douse the warm feeling of happiness she could feel spreading in her chest.

"It wasn't a lie, but a surprise." He corrected the wind sorceress, a small smirk on his lips.

"You're incredible." Kagura breathed out still unsure whether she should be angry, amused or pleased. _'As soon as he's concerned, my feelings become all so confused and conflicted.'_

"So you told me before. We have no time to argue right now. Now get dressed, put some make up on and..." He trailed off as he reached to his side table for a big velvet box.

"This is a family heirloom. I retrieved it from the family safe last week." He said as he opened the jewelry box to reveal a simple pure white pearl necklace made of three rows.

"Wow. Shouldn't that be with your mom..?." The wind sorceress asked in shock. As much as she wanted to feel the beautiful expensive necklace around her neck, she feared even touching it.

"_Never_. She wishes she had access to it though. This belongs to my _father's_ family, and she is not allowed to even lay a finger on it. And before you start arguing you will wear this tonight, and I am not taking no for an answer." He said as he could already feel an argument between the two of them brewing.

Then noticing a frown on her face, due to the fact that she really did not appreciate being ordered around he added "It would greatly please me to see you wearing it. This necklace has been kept into a safe for far too long, when it should be proudly worn by a beautiful woman." He said as he quickly moved behind Kagura to fasten the pearls around her neck, without giving her another chance to protest.

"Sesshoumaru..." Kagura said her breath catching in her throat. Fighting the tears of emotion she could feel rising.

"Go finish getting ready. I will look after Kanna." He interrupted her brushing tender fingers against her flushed cheek. To her regret, the contact was broken quickly as Sesshoumaru plucked the eager Kanna from his bed.

"Okay." The wind sorceress agreed with a smile as she walked out of the room, her dress at her arm.

"Sesshoumaru." Kanna addressed the man in whose arms she was in.

"Hum?" He said averting his gaze from Kagura's appealing retreating form to the young child he was holding.

"Kuma-chan wants to say goodnight." The young youkai said shyly, slightly afraid of the dog demon's reaction to her request. Even if he was the one to have given her the small white teddy bear, she loved and cherished so much, she was still apprehensive of Sesshoumaru's response.

"Are you talking about your teddy bear?" He asked her an eyebrow raised in surprise before pointing to the said toy, which was warmly cradled in her arms.

"Yes." Kanna nodded raising the little white bear to his face. "Say goodnight." She then instructed.

_`Does she expect this Sesshoumaru to kiss a plush toy?'_ He wondered shocked by the request. As he looked down into Kanna's deep dark eyes, his resolve to refuse categorically crumbled to dust. Since he really could not bring himself to kiss the bear goodnight, he tapped its head gently while murmuring a faint "Goodnight." The dog demon resisted the urge to sigh when he noticed Kanna's bright smile.

_`That witch and her daughter will both be the end of me.'_ He grumbled to himself, even if a small smile somehow found its place on his lips.

"Kanna. You know that tonight you will be staying at Inuyasha and Shippou's house. Kagome promised to be there as well…" Sesshoumaru started awaiting a response from Kanna, which came in the form of a nod.

"You will behave when under my brother's supervision, and will do everything that is asked of you, won't you?" He asked her, his golden eyes staring straight into hers.

"Yes. Can we go play?" Kanna asked cocking her head to the side. _`Even if mommy and Sesshoumaru are not here, I have to be good. I don't want them to be mad at me.'_ She then thought promising herself to make both of the two adult demons proud.

"It is past your bedtime, but it can't be helped. We shall make an exception for tonight. As soon as we arrive at Inuyasha's house you will go to bed." The dog demon ordered.

"I promise." Kanna agreed easily.

"What do you want to play?" The dog demon asked satisfied heading towards the living room, more precisely the little girl's playpen.

* * *

"Witch! We will be late." The dog demon said loudly as looked at his watch in annoyance. He then stood up from his crouched position where he was playing with Kanna to walk towards the corridor of his penthouse.

"Ugh I wouldn't be late if someone had given me my dress in time." She shot back from the bathroom where she was finishing getting ready. "If you want to gain time, why don't you go get my coat, it's freezing out there. It's in the closet in my room."

Without responding to her the dog demon gently caressing Kanna's head before heading for the guest bedroom. After turning the lights on, he walked inside the room, but before he made it to the closet, something caught his eye.

Sesshoumaru was indeed surprised to see picture frames placed inside Kanna's crib. He recognized one of the pictures as one he had seen weeks ago, when Kagura had just moved in with him. It was the picture of Kagura holding Kanna when she was still a baby. On the other hand the frame which used to contain a picture of Kagura and Shinichi now held one of the sketches Sesshoumaru had made of the wind sorceress and her daughter.

_'She cherishes the drawings I have made so much...'_ He thought pride and amazement running through him.

"SE-SHOU-MA-RU! What are you doing? How come it takes you so damn long to get a freaking coat?" He heard Kagura scream from the living room.

Ignoring her, he placed the frames back into the crib and took the wind sorceress's coat from her closet. As soon as he entered the living room seeing Kagura took his breath away. Even though it was the third time he saw her wearing the dress, she seemed so much more beautiful than usual. He was slightly disappointed however that Kagura had kept her hair tied.

_'At least it is not held in her usual bun...'_ He thought his golden gaze resting on the side ponytail resting at her shoulder. He wanted to tell Kagura how beautiful she was, but at the last second decided against it.

"Let us go" He instead said aloud as the three demons walked towards the door of the penthouse.

* * *

"Once again you have nothing to worry about, Kanna is perfectly safe with my brother... and Kagome will be with him. Besides as surprising as it might sound, Inuyasha is actually a good father. He does take good care of Shippou." Sesshoumaru said as he and Kagura were checking their coats in the entry hall of the building where the gala was taking place.

"I know, it's just always hard not to have Kanna near me. But I'm working on it. Proof is I don't check on her that much at the nursery at the office." Kagura said as she handed over her coat to the employee, who did her best not to cringe at seeing a woman as elegant as Kagura wearing a cheap coat compared to the expensive fur coats worn by the other female attendees of the gala.

"Kagome wasn't kidding when she spoke about how grand this thing was going to be." She said crimson eyes opened wide. Even tough Kagura had seen her share of fancy restaurants during her career as an escort, nothing had ever compared to the room she now stood in.

"This place is amazing. I love these carved marble columns. These large windows must let in so much light during the day, not that the moonlight it lets in right now isn't great." The dark haired demoness said looking around them in amazement as she let Sesshoumaru lead her towards the refreshment table.

"By your reaction you sounded just like a Cinderella." Sesshoumaru could not help but scoff.

"Oh? And would you be my Prince Charming?" She teased him back with a smirk.

"Sesshoumaru it's so good to see you." An unenthusiastic feminine voice said from behind the twosome. Her sudden intervention prevented the dog demon from giving Kagura's playful words a proper answer.

"Mrs. Yamashita." The dog demon answered with a respectful nod.

"I was talking with the members of the board of your agency, and we need to speak with you immediately concerning your contract with my company." The older woman, who worked at B-nags, said as she let go of the arm of the handsome older demon by her side.

_'We just got here and this old harpy is already bothering me.'_ Sesshoumaru thought in anger. It was only his flawless manners that prevented him to snarl at the woman.

"Can it wait? I have _my date_ to attend to." The dog demon said as he did his best not to react to the sudden stiffness of Kagura's body. The wind sorceress had suddenly looped her arm around his and had shivers running down her spine.

_'What is wrong with her? If I didn't know better I'd say she is afraid, but of what?'_ He wondered as he gave Kagura's arm a squeeze.

"Oh _she_ is indeed here. Your date, you said?" The older female youkai clicked her tongue reproachfully, giving Kagura a glare.

"No need to worry, my dear it will be my pleasure to _entertain_ her." The older snake demon informed his wife, a small smirk on his lips.

"Well Sousuke, I can't say I'm surprised by your proposition." Mrs. Yamashita told her husband rolling her eyes, before letting out a small hiss of anger. "You're quite used to it after all." She then muttered under her breath before adding aloud "Now come along Sesshoumaru we have to talk." The mature woman said pressing her lips in a thin line, batting her hand to dispel the dog demon's possible oppositions.

"Will you be alright?" The dog demon asked Kagura, his sharp golden eyes bearing into her crimson gaze.

"Yeah sure, go do your work thing, you're here for that after all..." Kagura said trying not to show the terror she felt inside as her eyes rested on Sousuke.

Giving Kagura's hand a last comforting squeeze, Sesshoumaru disappeared in the crowd, trailing behind Mrs. Yamashita.

After turning his head to the side to check if Sesshoumaru and his wife were gone, Sousuke spoke.

"Well what a surprise to see you here. I never thought Sesshoumaru was into that... So how have you been _Kaze_?"

**To be continued...**

A/N: Ooh someone who knows about Kagura's past. How will that turn out? The next chapter will be named Collisions.


	24. Collisions

_**Chapter 24: Collisions**_

A/N: Woohoo a long chapter to "celebrate" school starting last Monday. Ugh on to happier news; I'm sure people are going to be slightly surprised by the way the story is going to evolve after this chapter. Ku ku ku!

**Killersupergirl** (There is a connection between Kagura's past and Sousuke; what could it be?)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

**Klv** (Will Sessh come to the rescue, and more importantly will Kagura even need rescuing? Hum blowing up everything does sound fun... we'll see.)

**Kiari13**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Inu-midoriko**

**Foxfire7**

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**Krad**

**DeathAngel69**

**XelaKitsune**

**MissChaChaFirecracker**

**YyAnonymousyy**

**Hellina-Bertinelli (x2)**

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

_On _

**Sovereignty** (What will happen to Sousuke? We'll see.)

**Zetsuii** (There are going to be plenty more twists in the story. No worries more sweet dialogue will be coming.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"_Sesshoumaru it's so good to see you." An unenthusiastic feminine voice said from behind the twosome. Her sudden intervention prevented the dog demon from giving Kagura's playful words a proper answer._

"_Mrs. Yamashita." The dog demon answered with a respectful nod._

"_I was talking with the members of the board of your agency, and we need to speak with you immediately concerning your contract with my company." The older woman, who worked at B-nags, said as she let go of the arm of the older demon by her side._

'We just got here and this old harpy is already bothering me.' _Sesshoumaru thought in anger. It was only his flawless manners that prevented him to snarl at the woman._

"_Can it wait? I have_ _my date_ _to attend to." The dog demon said as he did his best not to react to the sudden stiffness of Kagura's body. The wind sorceress had suddenly looped her arm around his and had shivers running down her spine._

_'What is wrong with her? If I didn't know better I'd say she is afraid, but of what?'_ _He wondered as he gave Kagura's arm a squeeze._

"_Oh she is indeed here. Your date, you said?" The older female youkai clicked her tongue reproachfully, giving Kagura a glare._

"_No need to worry, my dear it will be my pleasure to entertain her." The older snake demon informed his wife, a small smirk on his lips._

"_Well Sousuke, I can't say I'm surprised by your proposition." Mrs. Yamashita said rolling her eyes, hissing in anger. "You're quite used to it after all." She then muttered under her breath before adding aloud "Now come along Sesshoumaru we have to talk." The mature woman said pressing her lips in a thin line, batting her hand to dispel the dog demon's possible oppositions._

"_Will you be alright?" The dog demon asked Kagura, his sharp golden eyes bearing into her crimson gaze._

"_Yeah sure, go do your work thing, you're here for that after all..." Kagura said trying not to show the terror she felt inside as her eyes rested on Sousuke._

_Giving Kagura's hand a last comforting squeeze, Sesshoumaru disappeared in the crowd, trailing behind Mrs. Yamashita._

_After turning his head to the side to check if Sesshoumaru and his wife were gone, Sousuke spoke._

"_Well what a surprise to see you here. I never thought Sesshoumaru was into that... So how have you been_ Kaze_?"_

"Do not call me this!" Kagura hissed, anger replacing fear.

"Tsk Tsk. You used to be so much better behaved and nicer. Now my dear, I have a few bills for you, and I am sure that we can find an empty room in this building. Now why don't we go spend some time alone together?" Sousuke asked as he took out his wallet.

"You bastard! I don't do that anymore. That was all Naraku's doing, and you know it!" The wind sorceress spat out angrily.

"Oh come on. Don't act so prudish now _Kaze_. Well since Naraku won't be getting any money, you should be happy that you'll get a bigger cut tonight. Come on for old time's sake..." Sousuke said as he stepped towards her, his deep yellow eyes gleaming. The snake demon then took out a few bills and handed them to Kagura. A deep frown on her brows, the wind sorceress angrily slapped his offered hand, ignoring the money bills that suddenly scattered around. With an unfazed smirk Sousuke put his wallet back in his pocket, not even sparing a glance at the curious crowd looking at them.

"Shut the fuck up! And don't you dare come close to me. I have changed; I am not Naraku's daughter anymore." Kagura snapped livid.

"Hum. That is not your call to make. Blood runs deep my dear wind witch, and even if you pushed him away, your father will always be a part of you. Now my lovely Kaze what will it be? Shall we look for a more _private_ place?" The middle aged demon asked raising a tender hand to her fair cheek.

"Not even in you dreams!" Kagura said as she slapped his hand away from her skin and walked away holding her head high.

The wind sorceress walked through the crowd looking for Sesshoumaru's comforting face, but everywhere she looked she only saw unfamiliar judgmental faces. Kagura, tired of running away, feeling her heart pound, and fear spread through her decided to take a rest at the back of the room.

_'I can't believe I'm letting that bastard get to me like this! Not only are we in public, but I'm so over my past life. There's nothing he or Naraku can do to me, so I have no reason to run or fear.'_ Kagura thought taking deep calming breaths.

An appeased expression now on her face, the wind sorceress leaned into one of the large windows over which she had marveled a little time ago. Her crimson orbs were too busy staring out at the beautiful large garden when she felt someone approach her. Hoping it was Sesshoumaru, she quickly turned around.

"Did you really think you could get away from me?" Sousuke growled as he grabbed her elbow.

"Don't you ever fucking give up?" She asked annoyed as she struggled against his hold.

"Not when in front of something I want so damn much." The older demon said as he refused to let go of the wind sorceress. "I can still remember our first date. You were so afraid, but tried to hide it. Your bravery was so endearing. Not to mention the fear, fury and hate in those beautiful crimson eyes of yours was so damn _arousing_. Dear Kaze you have always been so strong; I am going to _love_ breaking you and your spirit." Sousuke added recalling fondly the first time Naraku had presented him with his new girl.

"Asshole. You couldn't break me then, and you sure as hell won't be able to break me now!" Kagura spat struggling and thrashing again trying to break the hold he had on her arm.

"Keep talking like that. You know how I love my women feisty." Sousuke said with a chuckle.

"If you don't let me go of me I will chop you head off with a wind blade that is if Sesshoumaru doesn't skin you alive first." Kagura threatened him, angry at herself for not bringing her fan along.

"Am I supposed to be afraid? What was the name you had called back in the days? Oh yes _Shinichi_ was it? He didn't show up, did he? So what makes you think this time will be any different? How you make me laugh Kaze. You pretend to be such a strong woman, when in truth you are always hiding behind a man. You find me repulsive, but you're the same as me. You use men and throw them away. How is it different from what you hate me for doing?" He asked with a slight shrug taking a small break to let his words seep into the wind sorceress's mind.

"Oh and by the way I am not afraid of Sesshoumaru, I could care less what the pup might do to me. But of course you Kaze, can do to me anything you want, as we usually do it." Yamashita said as he bent over to press a kiss on Kagura's cheek.

"Is this Sesshoumaru disturbing you?" The dog demon asked as he appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

"I am sorry Sesshoumaru." Sousuke said sheepishly as he let go of Kagura with haste. "It seems I just could not contain myself."

"For your sake this Sesshoumaru would advise you to learn control." The dog demon growled as he rested a hand on Sousuke's large right shoulder. To the older snake demon's credit, even when Sesshoumaru dug his claws deep in the flesh of his shoulder, or when he felt warm blood spread under his expensive dark suit jacket, he did not show in how much pain he was.

"You are lucky to be the husband of one of the senior members of the board of the company that has employed this Sesshoumaru, otherwise you would be dead by my claws." The dog demon slowly removed his claws, making sure to cause as much pain as possible. "If you ever lay a single dirty finger on what is _mine_ again, this Sesshoumaru will have your head." He added with a growl, his eyes flashing red briefly.

"I understand." Sousuke said giving a low bow and flashing a smile at Kagura before taking his leave.

"I apologize for leaving you alone with him. That scumbag is known for being quite a disgusting perverted man." Sesshoumaru said placing a comforting arm around Kagura's waist. He fought his urge to run after Yamashita and beat him to a pulp when he felt goosebumps run over the wind sorceress's skin.

"It's okay. I told you before, I can kick ass. Had you not intervened I would have cut his head off myself." She answered faking a confident smile.

In truth Kagura's altercation with Sousuke had shaken her more than she dared to admit, not to mention the horrible memories it brought to her mind. _'I can't believe that bastard dared compare me to him! I am nothing like him. He's a filthy liar, who doesn't know what he's talking about. I do not use men to get what I want, I never have! In any case, I just hope Sesshoumaru didn't hear what happened and couldn't figure out who I used to be...'_ She thought terrified at the prospect of disappointing the dog demon.

"Kagura you don't seem well. Come I will take you home." Sesshoumaru said already taking her towards the entrance hall.

"No. You said this gala was important for your work." She said as she stopped their progression to the door.

"That is true. But your well being is _much_ more important to me." He said with a faint smile, brushing away her concerns. "Now come. You have seen first hand how long it can take Jaken to start the limo." He then observed as he forced Kagura to walk with him to the door.

On their way outside as she spotted none other than Sousuke smiling lustfully at her, Kagura snuggled closer to Sesshoumaru in search of warmth and protection; and he was more than ready and willing to give her both.

* * *

"Thank you for accompanying me, I had a good time" Sesshoumaru told Kagura as the two of them approached his car.

"You're welcome... even if it's a lie. We stayed there what? A grand total of fifteen... twenty minutes?" She answered with an uncomfortable smile as she settled in the backseat of the limousine.

"The gala is a boring event, and will always be; therefore, it was not a loss. On the other hand your presence made it more enjoyable." He tried making her feel better. Once he noticed after observing Kagura from the corner of his eye that she was still shivering, he asked deeply concerned "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I just never would have imagined this was such a big deal. Who knew you worked into such high circles?" She teased him, trying to fake some of her spunk back.

_'She does seem still a little out of it. What did that bastard of Sousuke do to her?'_ The dog demon wondered rage and fury coming over him.

"You seem strange." Sesshoumaru could not help but remark gently smoothing Kagura's hair back. She enjoyed the simple comforting gesture and smiled faintly at him while pressing her face towards his warm palm.

"Hum. Why are you so worried? If I didn't know better I'd say you care too much" She teased him a genuine smile on her lips.

"Do not be ridiculous. You know how I feel about you." He said with a small frown wondering if Kagura was once more testing him.

"Really? Do I? I'm not so sure about that. You're quite the mysterious man Sesshoumaru." Kagura remarked with a snort. Trying to rid her mind from the disturbing encounter she had with her old acquaintance, she leaned back against the comfortable seat and closed her eyes with a soft sigh.

_'How can she say that? I thought she was aware of how I felt towards her and felt the same for me, as that stupid test indicated... not to mention her constant flirting. Maybe Miroku was right and I should be more forceful in my approach...'_ The dog demon thought feeling slightly apprehensive.

"Are you sleepy?" He then asked turning towards her.

"No. I'm just relaxing." Kagura informed him as she rested her head against his shoulder, once more marveling at the soft warmth of his body.

He stole a quick glance at Kagura's deceptively peaceful and relaxed face, and his eyes could not help but land on her appealing dark red lips. Berating himself for his hesitation, Sesshoumaru leaned to his side. He then lifted Kagura's face with two fingers before giving her a quick peck on the lips.

"What did you just do?" Kagura gasped in shock opening her eyes wide.

"I kissed you" He responded matter-of-factly, doing his best not to sound vexed by her reaction. _'Maybe this_ was _a mistake after all...'_ He wondered angry at the idea that he could have stupidly ruined their friendship.

"No shit Sherlock! But we can't do this." Kagura said reluctantly pushing him away. By looking into his sharp golden eyes she could tell she had surprised and maybe even hurt him.

"As lame as it sounds, it's not you, it's me. It's just that there's something I haven't told you. If you knew... you wouldn't want to be with me." Kagura tried to explain her situation to him, without having to say anything aloud.

"What is it?" He asked doing his best to calm his blood. _'How pathetic am I? To think that only a taste of her lips can affect me this much...'_

"I... it's not an easy thing to say. I..." Kagura interrupted herself to take a few deep breaths, trying to collect her thoughts.

"It is okay. You can speak to me." The dog demon assured her feeling how scared Kagura was feeling.

"I haven't told you everything I used to do when working under Naraku..." The wind sorceress paused trying to will away the tears she could feel rising in her throat.

"I told you before that your past does not matter to me, didn't I?" He asked with a frown.

"Yeah well what I did was really different from being a hired date as I told you before." She said with a sigh. _`Or rather lied. Maybe I shouldn't have told Sesshoumaru that Naraku had a legal and clean business. Had I not lied from the start I wouldn't be in trouble now…'_

"What was it? Did Naraku have you deal drugs? Steal?" Another more disturbing idea came to his mind and even if he tried not to sound judgmental, he asked on a somber tone "Was it prostitution?" In truth Sesshoumaru was sure that anything Kagura could tell would not be so grave that he would push her away.

"I... ." Kagura said gulping, her heart pounding in her chest, and not because of the dog demon's earlier kiss.

"Naraku has a jewel addiction. He actually makes a lot of money, of course you'd never be able to tell by seeing his crappy house, but he does. The thing is that most of the money he gets goes right into buying jewels. Of course he does steal some of them... but anyway I'm going off topic here." She said with a nervous chuckle.

"It's okay. Take your time." Sesshoumaru assured her on a gentle tone, trying to coax the information out of her. He took her hand in his, running small circles on her fair skin with his thumb, trying to comfort her.

"To support his addiction, Naraku has... he made me do horrible things." She started explaining suddenly interrupting herself to let out a chocked sob. Shaking her head softly, Kagura wiped tears from her cheeks. While thinking about her life under Naraku's roof, Kagura gasped as something suddenly occurred to her.

_`Yes! I remember the old hag Yamashita confronted me that time she saw me with her husband!'_ The wind sorceress recalled angry at herself not to have realized it sooner. _`What if she goes and talk to Sesshoumaru just to spite me? No, she wouldn't dare. As much as she may hate me, admitting that your husband knows fucked up criminals like Naraku isn't a thing I'd see her do.'_ The wind sorceress thought feeling suddenly flushed in panic.

As he looked at the tears now falling freely from the eyes of the woman cuddled against his side, Sesshoumaru felt horrible. The feeling was amplified when mistaking her response to her sudden realization for a fear of his reaction, the dog demon decided to try to calm and reassure Kagura.

_'She really looks upset. I have never seen her in such a state, not since that waste of skin ex boyfriend of hers walked out of her life. Maybe I pushed Kagura too far tonight; she did seem really shocked by her encounter with Sousuke. Forcing her to speak of her past right now might not be what would be best for her.'_ Just as he thought about his behavior, the dog demon felt remorse.

"If you are not ready to speak it can wait.." He said faintly. As much as he wanted to find out about Kagura's secret past, seeing to her well being was more important to him.

"No... I think you need to know about this." Kagura said trying to force herself to speak the words. _'I should tell him now before I lose my nerve.'_

"I can wait. Tell me when you feel ready...when you trust me enough." He grudgingly let out.

"It's not that I don't trust you..." Kagura trailed off sniffling. _'Sesshoumaru says my past doesn't matter to him, but I'm scared that he'll leave me if I ever tell him the truth about Naraku's business.'_

"Sesshoumaru other than my daughter you're the person that's closest to me. I care a lot about you. _You_ are the one I trust the most." Her soft spoken words made a smile appear on Sesshoumaru's lips. As much as he wanted to seem aloof, her words made him truly happy.

_'I did know she had feelings for me as well.'_ He thought a proud smirk on his lips. _'Now that I am assured of this, I could care less about her past.'_

"Let the matter be closed then. It really does not matter. What you used to do or who you used to be is of no importance to me, or to anyone else. The only Kagura that matters is the one I have come to know." _'And cherish so much.'_ He added in his mind feeling his heart flutter, surprised he had even accepted the feelings to himself so easily.

"You really care about me, don't you?" The wind sorceress whispered thoughtfully. "Sesshoumaru?" She then added. "Are you going to try to kiss me again? Because... I'd like you to, and I wouldn't stop you this time." She raised her head defiantly looking straight in his eyes, a small smile on her lips.

_'I'm surprised he accepted me so easily. He doesn't even seem to mind I didn't tell him anything, so maybe I should come clean about my past.'_ Kagura asked herself.'_No. That wouldn't be a good idea. Sesshoumaru will never find out, so why go and ruin everything now? Tonight will be all about him and me, and that's all that matters. The two of us and Kanna is_ all _that matters.'_ She thought letting out a soft sigh.

**Slight citrus warning :p**

Knowing a good offer when he heard one, the silver haired demon's response came quickly. He softly pressed his lips against hers. None knew who was first to open his or her mouth, but soon their kiss grew hot as they both reacquainted themselves with the other one's hot cavern. To Sesshoumaru's surprise Kagura's kiss was a little awkward, as if she was not entirely sure what to do. But her shyness made the kiss all the more beautiful and special to him.

_'Even at the time of our first kiss I had noticed that despite her desperation, Kagura did seem a little overwhelmed. It would not surprise me if that sorry excuse of a man Shinichi, was the only true experience she had with a man. Therefore her awkwardness is not truly surprising'_ The dog demon reasoned. _'It is not a problem as it simply means I will have to teach her a few things.'_ The thought of it almost made him grin.

In truth the reason for Kagura's unsure movements was that she had never before felt such strong emotions run through her. Even if it overwhelmed and scared her, she decided to give into it.

_'I have waited for this for too long to be scared.'_ Kagura thought feeling her heart beat pound faster as feelings of delight ran through her.

The two broke apart both breathless and deeply satisfied. To Sesshoumaru's astonishment in a quick move, Kagura climbed atop him to straddle his waist.

"Kagura" He gasped. "There is no need to go fast. We can take our time..."

"You want me." She said ignoring his recommendation as she rocked forward against his hips. The action caused the dog demon to hiss in pleasure.

"I don't think you can doubt it" He answered breathlessly. He after all was aware she could feel his aroused length pressing against her thigh.

"And I want you too. We're both adults, and we know what we're doing, so where's the problem?" Kagura asked as she pressed a kiss to his lips, already working her fingers to unfasten the fist buttons of his shirt.

"Do not feel like you have to..." He tried to reason her, stopping her from undressing him by taking her hands in hers..

"Did you hear what I just said? _I want you_! And I have for a long time!" The wind sorceress huffed angrily suppressing the urge to growl in frustration.

"You just broke up with the man you love, and jumping in bed with another one would not be the smartest thing to do." He breathed out before placing his hands on her hips to push her away. To his surprise she slapped his hands away.

"You are wrong. Since I broke up with Shin I've come to realize that I wasn't really in love with him. I guess it's just that I wanted things to work so badly, and I wanted Kanna to have a family so much that I clung to the idea of him I had built. I was in love with the image of Shinichi I had in my head, not the real one. He's a selfish bastard and I regret " Kagura interrupted herself to take a deep breath.

"When I met him, I was young and stupid, I now know it. I mean I've spent so much more time with you over these past weeks than I have with Shinichi since I met him. Not to mention that I know you, and you know me so much better..." She finished explaining a bright loving smile on her cherry red lips.

For a long time the dog demon looked straight into Kagura's crimson eyes, meaning to see if she truly meant what she had said if there was an ounce of doubt. To his relief, he saw none.

_'So be it. I knew, and to be honest hoped it would somehow come to this. Kagura and I were bound to become lovers. She is right after all if we both are aware of what we are doing, why waste time?'_ The dog demon thought a small smirk finding its way on his lips.

"Then if this is truly what you desire." He trailed off as his lips approached hers.

"Yes" Kagura breathed out lustfully as she met his kiss halfway.

As their tongues met and fought for dominance the wind sorceress reached for her side and unzipped her dress, as the shiny blue satin pooled on her lap and exposed her soft creamy breasts. As the intensity of their kiss heightened, the wind sorceress pressed her bosom against his shirt covered chest. The heat of her skin and the feel of her made Sesshoumaru let out a strangled groan.

The dog demon gathered enough strength to break off their kiss and push Kagura away. To her surprise he then covered her flesh with her dress before carefully refastening the garment.

"Sesshoumaru! What are you doing? I'm tired of you pushing me away." Kagura exclaimed anger replacing lust.

Ignoring her complaint, he pressed a gentle kiss to the crook of her neck. Not able to not take at least some pleasure for himself, he gently rested his hand on the small of her back, and rocked her against his hips before whispering in her ear "You deserve so much better than the backseat of my car."

Taking advantage of Kagura's surprise the dog demon took her by the hips and repositioned her on the sit next to him. He closed his eyes for a second and took a few deep calming breaths, hoping to regain his usual cool demeanor.

"The Imperial Hotel is not far. Since Inuyasha and Kagome volunteered to look after Kanna for the whole night, we could take a suite, with jacuzzi..." He suggested, his golden eyes half closed, his mind already imagining the possibilities at hand.

_'Is he trying to be romantic?'_ Kagura wondered feeling her heart melt even more. "No I don't want that. Tonight I want to be lost in you. I want our first time to be at home, in your bed, surrounded by _your_ scent.

_'How does she dot it? She can affect me so easily. That witch is too good.'_ Sesshoumaru thought wondering if Kagura was purposely appealing to his dog demon nature by mentioning his sense of smell. The simple idea of their two scents merging together as one was enough to make his youkai nature flare and turn his eyes to a reddish hue for an instant.

"As you wish." He told Kagura before touching the intercom button and addressing his driver "Jaken take us home, fast."

The wind sorceress grinned happily as she snuggled close to his side and rested a delicate hand on his thigh.

_'We better make it home fast enough.'_ Sesshoumaru thought suppressing a lustful groan forming in his throat.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Couples are getting closer. Creeps are taken care of, and is there a lemon coming? I am too good to you guys. The next chapter will be named **Nice and slow.** Wonder what will happen in it...


	25. Nice and slow

_**Chapter 25: Nice and slow**_

A/N: Not much to say today… you get an early update because I'm in a better mood. As you could have guessed (or not lol) **BIG** **LEMON ALERT** **especially** **at the beginning of the chapter! (Don't say I didn't warn you!)**

Thanks to all of you for the reviews:

**Killersupergirl** (Your wish is my command! Lol)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Klv** (Ah they may appear to be together, but will their relationship be good enough?)

**Kiari13**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Inu-midoriko**

**Foxfire7**

**Smoka420** (Oh I'm not THAT evil... then again who knows what might come next...)

**DeathAngel69**

**YyAnonymousyy**

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

**Little25victor**

**XxAzn HomiexX**

**Soojinyeh**

**MissChaChaFirecracker**

**XelaKitsune**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**Sesskagluv** (Long time no see :) Is Kagura's dirty little secret going to be revealed and will it have disastrous consequences... we'll see.)

_On _

**Sovereignty** (Oh there will be plenty of lovey-dovey time, but for how long?)

**Zetsuii** (It seems that you're pleading was successful after all lol.)

**Vikay09** (Always great to get a new reviewer! I'm glad you liked the slower pace of the story.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"_The Imperial Hotel is not far. Since Inuyasha and Kagome volunteered to look after Kanna for the whole night, we could take a suite, with jacuzzi, for the night..." He suggested, his golden eyes half closed, his mind already imagining the possibilities at hand._

_'_Is he trying to be romantic?' _Kagura wondered feeling her heart melt even more. "No I don't want that. Tonight I want to be lost in you. I want our first time to be at home, in your bed, surrounded by your scent._

'That witch is too good.' _Sesshoumaru thought wondering if Kagura was purposely appealing to his dog demon nature by mentioning his sense of smell. The simple idea of their two scents merging together as one was enough to make his youkai nature flare and turn his eyes to a reddish hue for an instant._

"_As you wish." He told Kagura before touching the intercom button and addressing his driver "Jaken take us home, fast."_

_The wind sorceress grinned happily as she snuggled close to his side and rested a delicate hand on his thigh._

_'We better make it home fast enough.' Sesshoumaru thought suppressing a lustful groan forming in his throat._

000000

"Do you want a drink?" Sesshoumaru asked after opening the door to his penthouse. He put away both his keys and his coat and turned around to look at Kagura.

"Are you nervous?" She asked him with a chuckle as she took off her coat and her shoes.

"No." He answered trying to mask his sudden uneasiness. As much as he wanted Kagura and her body, he wondered if the two of them were not going forward with their relationship too fast.. _'After all we are going to share a bed when we only just admitted our mutual feelings...'_ He thought unable not to frown.

"I didn't really think so." She said as she walked towards Sesshoumaru and looped her arms around his neck. It was now Kagura's turn to frown when she noticed the dog demon's hesitation at returning her embrace.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked him worried over his possible number.

"Are you sure..." He merely trailed off as he was sure Kagura knew what he was referring to.

"I thought that by now you'd know me well enough to realize that I always speak my mind. I wouldn't sleep with you if I didn't want to." The wind sorceress retorted with a small smile, her crimson gaze veiled in worry looking up in his bright golden eyes.

"You are right." He lowered his head to press a kiss to her lips. With a moan she allowed him to slide his tongue past her lips.

Once they broke apart from their deep kiss, Kagura took his hand in hers and dragged him towards his bedroom. They had barely made it past the door to his room and flicked the lights on, that the dog demon turned her around. His hunger for her ignited by her presence in his personal space, Sesshoumaru scooped Kagura in his arms and put her down softly on his bed.

Within a heartbeat Kagura had reattached their lips and was helping him get his jacket off.

"Be patient witch." He ordered with a smug and amused smirk.

"Shut up and take it off." She said frustrated as she tugged at his shirt a pout on her lips.

"As you wish." He smiled amused as he removed his shoes and socks before taking off his bow tie and removing his shirt and undershirt. The sight of his bare chest made Kagura suddenly feel burning hot. Not comfortable being inactive, she then tried to take off her dress.

"Don't do it witch. I will." He instructed her as he approached her slowly. The dog demon pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder left bare by her dress. He took his time taking turns pulling the gown off and kissing her skin as he revealed it.

"Why do you always have to do things so slowly?" Kagura murmured against her lover's skin as she pressed her lips to the crook of his neck. After stating this, she untangled herself from him and took off her dress before throwing it over her head with a frustrated sound escaping her throat.

"You are so impatient." He chuckled as he freed her hair from the side ponytail she had arranged her long dark locks in.

"Yes. It's because I want you so much." She whined getting to her feet letting her fingers work on the buckle of his pants. Kagura then threw off of him both his pants and underwear before coming to her knees in front of him, between his legs, her eyes rived on his manhood..

Understanding what she meant to do, Sesshoumaru sat up in his bed and propped himself on his elbows, looking down at her said "You do not have to."

"You know..." Kagura remarked with a smirk as she worked her hand over his length, causing a shiver to run down his spine. "You talk too much. You should just shut up and let me pleasure you."

A devilish smirk on her lips, Kagura lowered her cherry red lips to his length. After running her smooth tongue over him, she put as much of him as she could in her mouth, and he was at her complete mercy. The dog demon did his best to stay mostly silent as her mouth and soft fingers worked him flawlessly.

"Kagura... I am going to..." He warned her as he tried to raise her head. He groaned in the back of his throat and almost fell back against the bed as he noticed that his warning only made her more enthusiast.

The dog demon felt a sudden warmth and a wave of pure ecstasy shoot through him. The pleasure was so intense that he had to close his eyes as he panted. Only once she felt he was done did the wind sorceress raise her head to release him and sat back on her haunches.

"Good?" She asked shyly after wiping her lips, looking up at him afraid of disappointing him.

"The best." He assured her without a doubt. He felt lightheaded and extremely good, but he knew that they had just started their 'fun' for the night.

With a grunt, proving the effort required to move even though he barely felt his muscles, he lowered himself to his knees in front of her. The dog demon cradled Kagura's face in his hands and brought her soft lips to his. He then as their tongues entwined, reached behind her back to unclasp her strapless bra. As soon as her twin peaks were revealed to him, he wasted no time lowering his kisses to taste them. As his mouth lightly chewed on her right breast, his right hand tweaked her left nipple until she moaned loudly.

Satisfied, he suddenly got to his feet, taking Kagura along with him. The dog demon threw her on the bed, which made her squeal in surprise. In the blink of an eye, Sesshoumaru pinned her body to his bed with his own, and slid down her form to rest between her legs. He parted her thighs and tore away her underwear with a flick of his claws. He parted her legs and placed one of her thigh over his shoulder and was about to start working her when Kagura interrupted him.

"What are you doing? No wait, no one has ever..." Kagura said trying to sit up, but the dog demon suddenly interrupted her by pushing her back on the bed.

"Shh! You talk too much. You should just shut up and let me pleasure you." He said paraphrasing what she had told him earlier.

Kagura opened her mouth to protest his use of her own words against her, but she did not get to say anything, as the dog demon surprised her by placing a well calculated flick of his tongue against the hidden jewel nestled in her womanhood. The action caused her to cry out in surprise and shock. Her reaction caused Sesshoumaru to chuckle, the vibration causing even more pleasure to run thought her veins.

He simultaneously worked her with both his tongue and his fingers until he heard her gasp loudly and felt her thighs close around his head; he could then tell she had reached bliss.

"This was..." Kagura trailed off unable to find words to describe how she was feeling. She took deep calming breaths, her crimson eyes opened wide in wonder as she looked at Sesshoumaru, who had now regained his composure, and had gotten to his feet.

"The best?..." He supplied with a seductive smile licking some of her honey from his fingers.

"Yes." She answered as she extended her hand to him. Taking her invitation, Sesshoumaru laid on the bed next to her. They shared a few sweet kisses as their hands eagerly covered the others body with caresses. One of the dog demon's claws traced Kagura's curves, going from her hip to her neck, scratching her soft skin even right under the rows of pearls.

"I forgot to take it off." Kagura suddenly remarked and she reached for the necklace Sesshoumaru had given her.

"No leave it. You look beautiful with it." _'Just like a true Takahashi woman.'_ He thought taking a lock of her hair to force her down to receive a kiss from him. As she nibbled his lower lip, Kagura moved over him to straddle his waist and slowly welcomed his shaft into her warmth.

The two of them let out moans when Sesshoumaru was fully sheathed inside her. She slowly lifted herself over him and slammed her hips down. A groan of pure pleasure was let out of Sesshoumaru's throat as his hands trailed up to squeeze her breasts appreciatively.

To Kagura's pleasure, the dog demon met every one of her moves eagerly, thrusting against her. To help anchor herself and move faster and more fluidly, the wind sorceress braced her arms on her lover's chest, tracing the shape of his defined abs with her delicate fingers.

Her slow pace quickly increased to a frantic speed, which made Sesshoumaru frown. Her sharp moves were very pleasurable to him, and would be sure to bring _him_ to a quick blissful release, which he did not want. In fact, Sesshoumaru wanted to take his time and savor his lover, but more importantly, he also wanted Kagura to reach her release.

To Kagura's shock, Sesshoumaru suddenly placed his hands on her hips to stop her.

"What is it?" She asked worriedly as she stopped rocking against his hips.

Sesshoumaru did not answer her, but instead quickly reversed their position. He stared right into the crimson eyes of the woman beneath him before he finally spoke a small frown still on his brows "We have all the time in the world. We can take it slowly. Nice and slow." To accentuate his words he gave an achingly slow roll of his hips, paying great attention to hit her inner sweet spot perfectly.

"Nice." She moaned out in his ear as she wrapped her long legs around his waist, enabling him to move deeper into her.

"Yes. And slow." Sesshoumaru breathed out as he picked up some pace and searched for Kagura's lips with his own. She moaned as their two tongues entwined passionately.

Their slow movements escalated to rapid rocking fast enough. Sesshoumaru was pleased that Kagura had arched against him and met every one of his deep thrusts. Deciding to take things up a notch, the dog demon reached behind him to entangle her legs from his back. To Kagura's delight he then raised her right leg over his shoulder, the action enabling him to slide into her even deeper. Aiming to make sure she would reach a blissful state, he lowered his clever fingers to her pleasure nub, drawing slow circles around it, while with his other hand he massaged her breast.

"Isn't slow better?" He asked her with a strong thrust of his hips, his deep voice making her shiver. The dog demon was doing his best not to let in his voice show the strain due to passion he was feeling. He could feel his release being close, but he steeled himself against it. Sesshoumaru would be damned if he took his pleasure before pleasing his woman.

"Oh yes! Sesshoumaru!" Kagura finally cried out as she climaxed, digging her nails into the back of his shoulders, creating deep red welts on his flawless pale skin.

Even though his release was completely silent, the amount of pleasure Sesshoumaru had felt with Kagura made any other sexual encounters look bland; she had simply fit him _perfectly_.

After letting his seed flow inside her, he freed her leg and collapsed on top of Kagura. He decided to take a short respite inside her, and pressed his forehead against hers before placing a few kisses on her lips. Once he regained some of his strength, with a groan, Sesshoumaru disengaged his manhood from her warmth, and lay on the bed next to her, breathing hard.

As soon as she came down from her pleasure high, Kagura turned to her side and snuggled next to him. A small pleasure filled blush touched her cheeks as she noticed the contented, peaceful expression on Sesshoumaru's face.

"You seem awfully smug and happy." She remarked tracing the smile on his lips with a gentle finger.

"Only because you gave me a reason to be." He replied closing his eyes and snaked his arm around her waist, holding Kagura as close to him as possible.

"I trust it was good for you as well." He stated as he gave Kagura's forehead a loving peck before covering the sweaty bodies with the bed covers.

"The best." She assured him with a contended sigh and a chuckle. "I felt like it was my first time." She then confessed, still feeling a tingling sensation run through her body.

_'How could I have known being with someone could be this pleasurable? Hum one more thing Naraku almost took away from me.'_ The wind sorceress thought sadly. _'Ugh what's wrong with me? I shouldn't spoil this great moment by thinking about Naraku of all people!'_ She scolded herself before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Simply feeling Sesshoumaru's comforting warmth on her skin was enough to make her stop thinking about her father.

"Because it was. It was your first time with me... and I am quite sure not the last..." He remarked with a proud smirk.

"You are so full of it." She remarked on a laughter filled one.

Sesshoumaru's deep chuckle was the last thing the wind sorceress heard as she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take her.

* * *

As soon as Kagura opened her eyes, a warm smile reached her lips. She sat up and stretch before turning her head to the side. To her surprised she noticed none other than Sesshoumaru sitting in bed with only his boxers on, busy sketching her.

"What are you doing?" Kagura asked stretching even if she did not bother to cover her naked body. Sesshoumaru silently appreciated her lack of shyness around him.

"Sketching you." He answered raising his sharp eyes from his sketching pad to the stunning woman in his bed.

The dog demon did his best to apply himself on his work. Through it he aimed to show the incredible loving warm feelings churning inside him. He needed to express himself even if he had never been one for words, so he decided to rather use his artistic talent.

Giving a critical once over at his unfinished work , he sighed in pleasure. _'I will not stop at a sketch. This should be a painting. But probably not a nude... I doubt Kagura would appreciate having Kanna be taught about nude art through her. After all I do plan to have this portrait hung.'_ He thought a grin on his lips.

"Are you almost done? Next time you want to draw me, warn me in advance, and I might even pose for you." She told her lover propping herself on her elbow. "I do need to get a bath... You're always welcome to join me of course..." Kagura then trailed off with a knowing smirk.

The words barely made it out of her mouth that Sesshoumaru put away his sketching pad and reached for her. He got to his feet and cradling his woman in his arms, he made it to the bathroom in just a few strides.

* * *

"Does it hurt?" The wind sorceress asked with a wince as she fingered a deep welt on the dog demon's back. Feeling a little guilty for causing the injury, she pressed her soft lips to his skin.

_'I just couldn't control myself. He just made me feel so good...'_ Kagura thought a flush on her face. _'Impressive that we could do so much in such a confined space. Who could have thought Sessh was so flexible...'_ Erotic images of their time in the bathtub caused a smirk to appear on her lips.

"No." He lied. Even though the freshly made marks, courtesy of Kagura and their _fun_ in the bathtub did sting him, he regarded them as badges of honors, proof of how much he had pleasured her. Not willing to pursue the discussion he flicked his long hair behind his shoulders to cover the bright red welts on his pale skin.

"You know. I never guessed it could be so simple to be with someone. I doubt I could or _should_ really count the few weeks I spent with Shinichi as a true relationship..." Kagura said with a thoughtful frown.

_`We barely discussed Sesshoumaru's dating history, but I'm sure he's got to have had girlfriends before. Unlike me, I have no reference points.'_ Kagura thought suddenly feeling unsure about the viability of their relationship. Just as the thought crossed her mind, something else occurred to her _`Damn he never did say we were actually dating or anything. I don't think he's the type, but what if Sesshoumaru was like Shin and all he wanted was sex? It wouldn't be the first time I'm wrong when thinking about a man's intentions...'_ The wind sorceress thought feeling worry and sadness spreading inside her. He heart suddenly felt heavy, and she felt scared.

"What do you mean? Your lack of experience is irrelevant. In fact, our relationship will not change that much." He reassured her as he felt a sense of unease coming from her. "The only difference will mainly reside in the fact that we will just have more… _interactions_." Sesshoumaru said after turning around to look at the woman who had been scrubbing his back a few minutes before, careful of the scratches she had caused to his skin earlier.

"Is that so? Well I must admit it's just a nice change to feel so good with someone. I mean... we're together, right?" The wind sorceress asked suddenly not secure about their relationship. Sesshoumaru's last words had not helped qualm her doubts and fears at all, quite the contrary actually.

"Give me more credit witch. I do not take any woman I like into my bed." He said really vexed she could think otherwise.

Kagura had to bite her lower lip in order to force herself not to mention the unknown woman Sesshoumaru had come home with from a bar a few weeks ago. _'No need to say anything. Now is not the time to start spoiling things between us...'_

"So you _like_ me?" She asked coyly tracing small circles on the skin of his back, which made shivers run down his spine.

"Can you doubt it? I figured this Sesshoumaru had proved it enough times yesterday night... and this morning." He recalled fondly, images of their passionate time together coming back to his mind.

"You sure as hell did. Then why did you say the contrary when we went out to dinner. Not to mention that you said I should not be seeing anyone!" Kagura exclaimed slightly angry, giving a small tug to a lock of his hair as she recalled their conversation of the time.

"I altered the truth." He rectified with an unconcerned shrug.

"More like blatantly lied. Moreover let me guess, his highness Sesshoumaru does not consider himself to be just anyone, right?" Kagura asked. The dog demon answered with a smirk and a nod.

"May I remind you that you too lied at the time? After all it seems you do like me as well. And what I meant to say at the time was that other than me, you should not be seeing anyone." He elaborated his mind. To his surprise, Sesshoumaru found it easier to tease Kagura and have fun. He could not recall when he had last felt this relaxed and happy.

"You are so full of it!" Kagura exclaimed in shock, amusement present in her voice. "But you're right, I do like you... my amazing lover of a boyfriend."

"Hum. Say it again." He purred seductively amazed at how a few words could make his heart flutter so easily.

"Don't go fishing for compliments mister, it's unbecoming." She informed him with a playful huff.

Despite the lack of space in the large bathtub of his master bathroom, Sesshoumaru managed to switch their positions around in order to cradle Kagura in his arms.

Resting his chin on her shoulder he asked her softly nuzzling her neck "I noticed you looked quite peaceful when you were sleeping. What were you dreaming of?"

"How long were you spying on me? Just so you know that sounds creepy." She teased him as she twirled a strand of his wet long silver hair around her finger.

"Not long. In fact I did not get to finish my sketch of you. Now answer the question witch." He said pressing a tender kiss to the side of her neck right over the necklace he had made her wear the previous night.

"It's strange, but I've always wanted to see the ocean. Even if I've seen beaches on TV and pictures thousands of times, I've never seen a beach or the sea in reality. I dreamed that Kanna and I were at the beach... And before you even ask, yes you were there with us too." Kagura explained as her fingers made some little ripples on the surface of the bubble bath the two of them were soaking him.

"Was it nice?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Oh yes." The wind sorceress breathed out happily as she leaned back against his chest.

The two demons stayed silent for a long time, both content to simply enjoy the other one's presence. Sesshoumaru frowned slightly when he realized the water of their bath had turned cold. _`Time to get out, I wouldn't want the witch to become sick... or I could always warm her up'_

"Are you rested enough now for another round?" The dog demon asked her as his hands trailed over Kagura's sides to rest on her breasts, cupping the soft mounds appreciatively, before tweaking her nipples.

"You are insatiable, but shouldn't I be the one asking you that? Did you get your strength back yet, lover boy?" She asked him with a smirk, which turned into a moan due to his gentle ministrations.

"Is it a challenge?" He asked releasing his hold on her to push her forward in order to get to his feet, before stepping out of the bathtub.

"Maybe" She breathed out a devilish smile on her lips as she ogled him.

"You are on." He said a smirk on his lips revealed a sharp fang before extending his hand to her in invitation.

**To be continued...**

A/N: A pure fluff and lemon chapter... guess I'm in really a good mood lol. What will happen next time? We'll see in **Doubt**. Wonder if our two fave demons are moving too fast with their relationship? Will they regret their decision later on? We'll see...


	26. Doubt

_**Chapter 26: Doubt**_

A/N: I know the title of this chapter made you worry, now let's see if your worries were warranted :)

Thanks to all of you for the reviews:

**Killersupergirl** (Here's your update)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Klv **(There will definitely be a lot of tension and storms coming their way, but how long will they sail smoothly?)

**Kiari13 **

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Inu-midoriko**

**Foxfire7**

**DeathAngel69**

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

**Little25victor **

**Soojinyeh**

**XelaKitsune**

**Hah **(Yay new reviewer! Thanks for the amusing review. Actually I've written tons of lemons, so I don't feel weird anymore. Oh and **Congratulations on leaving the 350****th**** review!!! Woot woot!**)

_On _

**Sovereignty ** (Yes that was one long lemon, which I'm sure you enjoyed.)

**Zetsuii** (I hope you had your lemony fill because you shouldn't expect another lemon for a little while. Sesshy is hot whatever he might be doing, even eating an apple lol.)

**Vikay09 **(There was too much sexual tension between them, which explains why they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"I can't feel my arm..." The wind sorceress complained with a huff as she lay on her side completely naked in Sesshoumaru's bed, her head turned to the side, looking towards the window.

"When can I move? Can I even speak?" She asked, a grin on her lips as she turned her face to the left to look at her lover who was sitting next to her on the bed they had just shared.

"You can speak if you stop moving around." He informed her as he made some small strokes of his pencil. "Before you start complaining again let me remind you, _you_ were the one who asked to pose for this Sesshoumaru."

"Shut up. Just so you know I didn't know it would take this freaking long. All I wanted to say was that I'm starving." She retorted this time careful not to move.

"Just keep the pose a little while longer." Sesshoumaru said on a gentler tone, doing his best to finish his drawing as fast as possible. "Once I will be done, I will make you breakfast." He added making some more strokes on his piece of paper.

"It's fine I can cook breakfast. It's just on my list of chores for the day along with the huge pile of laundry..." She said with a small shrug. _'Maybe if I stopped dressing Kanna in white, I'd gain time when doing laundry. But she loves it, and she looks so cute in white...'_ Kagura could not help but think, a fond smile appearing on her lips at thinking about her dear daughter.

"You don't have to. In fact you should not have to do all these chores to begin with. You are already working at the office, which is enough. I will hire a housekeeper as soon as possible to lighten your workload... Actually I will call Jaken, that retainer father assigned to my service so long ago. He might as well do something useful for a change, and get the problem solved by tonight." The dog demon said thoughtfully as he put down the sketch he had just finished.

"Why would you do that? There's no need to hire a housekeeper to do work that I can do. It's a waste of money." Kagura said massaging the arm she had been resting on and turned around to face her lover.

"Money is really not an issue..." Sesshoumaru answered with a shrug. _'Why wouldn't she want me to make her life easier?' _He wondered. A light frown formed on his brows as he remembered how Kagura had spent most of her free time on the past weekend scrubbing the entire penthouse. _'As much as I enjoy having a spotless environment for a change, Kagura does need to take it easy.'_ He thought to himself.

"And that's an issue..." Kagura muttered and she got to her feet.

_'Now that we slept together, all of a sudden he's going to try to buy me off?! What? Does he think that he has to buy me things in order for me to sleep with him? Or is he trying to _reward_ me for having sex with him by hiring help?!' _She wondered her eyes suddenly burning in intensity. Meaning to cover herself, she picked up the blue satin dress she had been wearing the night before, which angered her even more.

"What is wrong?" The dog demon asked getting out of the bed as well. He was indeed confused by Kagura's sudden and, in his opinion unwarranted, apparent upset.

"Here! This is wrong." The wind sorceress said brandishing the sapphire satin gown. "I told you before; I don't like having people spend money on me. And you've been ignoring my simple request to stop buying me stuff. I mean it's one thing to buy things for Kanna, but it's an entire different thing to spend all this on me." She said running her fingers over the necklace at her throat.

"Kagura. Do not be ridiculous. So, I did not return your dress, and I let you borrow a necklace from my father's family… or are you upset because I offered to hire help? You have no reason to be mad; it is really not such a big deal." Sesshoumaru said calmly. Even though he could not understand why she was getting this upset, he figured that trying to calm his lover down would be sure to dispel the growing tension between them.

_'I see now why father used to say relationships are complicated. We barely started dating and are already arguing; maybe we jumped into a relationship too fast. We might have been better off staying friends...' _He lamented resisting the urge to let out a tired sigh. _'What was I expecting? I should have guessed things would turn out this way, Kagura _is_ infuriating _and_ irresistible at the same time. Our personalities are too different for us not to butt heads...'_ He suddenly interrupted his dark thoughts, and as he looked at Kagura's beautiful naked figure, could not help but think_ 'We are strikingly different, but I doubt I would have been able to resist having a taste of her. As I should have expected, our relationship will probably be tried several times, but this only means we will have to work harder to make it work.'_

Noticing that his earlier words had not appeased her in the least, Sesshoumaru then decided to compromise. "It was not my intention to make you feel uncomfortable. I promise to do my best to heed your demands from now on. However you should know it is my pleasure to buy things for you, therefore I will continue do to so. I do not have any ulterior motives other than my pleasure... In any case, I do not know if you realize it, but you always work hard to please the people around you. You have no need to do everything, let me take care of you for a change. Anyway why is it so hard for you to accept a simple gift?" He said the corners of his mouth turning downwards.

"It's not really like that... And anyway just so you know, I don't _need_ to be taken care of." Kagura corrected him with a sigh, feeling anger simmering inside her.

"Then enlighten me, for I am confused by what you want." He said with caution as he walked towards her. The dog demon was growing slightly exasperated, but knew that showing his anger to Kagura would not do any good.

"I've lived in a materialistic world for a long time. Meaning that I've seen how money corrupts people's hearts and minds. But I want things to be different in my life this time around, and especially between us. Not to mention that I already owe you so much money..." She said with a sigh, recalling the abuse she had to endure under Naraku.

"Forget about that debt." Sesshoumaru said not willing to explain to her it had all been a ploy to make sure she would not leave his side before he had had the time to make her his.

"I can't do that. We had an agreement and I intend to stick to it! No questions on that." She exclaimed with determination. _'Besides with the crazy huge paycheck I received a few weeks ago I was able to pay most of the debt, and with the new one that's coming in two days I'll be able to pay Sesshoumaru back entirely and even put some money aside.'_ The wind sorceress thought once again amazed by her salary.

When she looked up at Sesshoumaru and noticed the small frown on his brows, she decided to elaborate what she meant.

"The truth is that I fear that this whole money thing will come between us. I may not know much about relationships and stuff, but at least I know that the two people kind of have to be on equal footing... or rather there has to be an exchange... and oh well what I mean is that you provide everything for Kanna and me, but I don't do anything for you…" She confessed, a cloud of sadness veiling her eyes._ 'When we were just friends it wouldn't be an issue, but now that our relationship has evolved, it's different. I don't see why he can't understand that!'_

"First of all the issue will not come between us if we don't let it." Sesshoumaru stated as he stopped in front of her. "You are right. It is true that I come from a privileged environment and that money has never been lacking in my life. I am also aware that consequently I may not realize the value of money, not to mention that I can in some occasions be inconsiderate of other people's feelings..." Sesshoumaru said lowering his head to look in his lover's eyes.

"Hey! I didn't mean it like that. Don't put yourself down like that; you're not a monster like Naraku is." Kagura frowned taking a fistful of Sesshoumaru's hair to pull on it, effectively getting his attention.

"Let me finish witch." He said his lips twitching in amusement at her apparent obsession with his hair. "On the other hand I will not lie. I enjoy money. I enjoy the power it gives me. What I enjoy the most about it is that it gives me the power to create things I appreciate. Like this..." He interrupted to trace a finger over Kagura's lips. "I enjoy seeing you smile. You can not lie and have to admit that you do enjoy it when I offer you gifts. It is an expected reaction and there is nothing wrong with it."

Sesshoumaru ended his sentence with a small nod, and removed his fingers from his lover's face. "A successful relationship is not a competition Kagura. There is no need to keep tabs on who did what, or gave what to the other. All you really need to do is feel good about yourself, and about us."

_'Feel good? I think I can do that, but I don't know if it's enough to make things work between us.'_ The wind sorceress thought with a sigh.

"I have spent _some_ money on both you and your daughter, but you are working on paying me back. Not to mention that you do give me things in return…" The dog demon trailed off, not keen on admitting aloud how much the presence of Kagura and her daughter had brightened and changed his life for the better.

"Like what for example?" Kagura asked eager to find out. _'Please don't answer _sex_.' _She thought to herself, secretly hoping he would give an answer that would please her.

"To cite just an example... your friendship" Sesshoumaru grudgingly said. "I also trust you and care about you and your daughter." He said recalling Kagura's confession of the previous night and expressing feelings similar to the wind sorceress's. "Many have tried to gain this Sesshoumaru's favor, but have failed. Kagura you have given me a true friendship, and that is _priceless_." His words had warmed Kagura's heart, but it had not completely fought off some of her doubts.

"I guess you're right..." She had to admit, unable not to prevent some of her shame and bitterness from coming through to Sesshoumaru. She however now felt slightly foolish over her previous outburst.

The dog demon felt bad at Kagura's saddened expression, and tried to cheer her up.

"In my eyes, money would be an issue for us only if you were with me because of it. Usually women expect me to provide for them _everything_, and also to buy for them the most expensive things possible. You are different however. I am aware that had it not been for the desperate situation you found yourself in when we met, you never would have asked me for help. You are too proud for that, and in that respect we are similar..." He trailed off, a faint smile gracing his lips before he continued speaking.

"Even since back then you asked only the bare minimum from me, which was mainly shelter. Not many would have taken this road. Unlike you who decided to work in exchange for my help, I am sure someone else would have asked me to give them a check, and would then be on their way. Even now, despite all that has happened between us, you are still insisting on repaying me. This is a proof of your strength, which I admire." His softly spoken words made Kagura flush in pure pleasure.

"You find me strong?" She gasped in surprise. _'No one has ever said that to me.' _She told herself, a delightful warm feeling forming in her chest as her eyes shinned brightly.

"You are." Sesshoumaru simply answered bending down to press a tender kiss to her lips. "I trust this conversation will dispel any discomfort that may have existed. I am glad we spoke; at least there will not be any more confusion or lies between us. We probably should have talked about all this before taking our friendship to the… next level, but in the end it all worked out for the best." The dog demon said cautiously hoping things would go smoothly from now on between them.

Kagura turned her head to the side a wave of disgust suddenly rising into her throat. She was not even able to look at her lover anymore _'He's opening up and being so honest with me, but I'm so pathetic that I still can't bring myself to tell him the whole truth about who I truly am...'_

"Oh shit! It's already so late?! We've got to go pick up Kanna." The wind sorceress gasped in shock as she saw that it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. Even though it was true that they were late, she was also glad to have managed to change the subject.

"Let us get dressed then." Sesshoumaru said with a regretful sigh. Even if he dared not voice his apprehension, the dog demon feared how things would be between Kagura and him once Kanna came back. _'Will Kagura still welcome my caresses so eagerly?'_ He wondered as he put a T-shirt on.

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"Keh! You and that kid are so alike it's fucking creepy!" Inuyasha growled addressing his brother as soon as he and Kagura stepped inside the hanyou's apartment.

"She does that stare thingy when she won't even speak to me and looks at me in silence forever, just like you enjoy doing. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that kid is yours. Fucking creepy." Inuyasha then added crossing his arms over his chest.

"Kanna simply does not like speaking with people whose intellectual abilities are lacking. It is true that in this regard she is indeed similar to _me_." Sesshoumaru said a hint of almost fatherly pride shining in his voice.

_'What are these two talking about? Damn maybe we should discuss Sesshoumaru's role with Kanna... I didn't even think about that. Well at least I know she likes him and he'll treat her well... Still I've got to address that issue with the two of them...'_ Kagura thoughts were interrupted when she heard light footsteps running towards her.

"Mommy!" Kanna squealed happily as she ran towards her mother and Sesshoumaru a smile on her lips.

"Looks like someone had a nice night." Kagura said as she happily took her daughter in her arms, pressing a kiss to both of her cheeks.

"Feh! Looks like she's not the only one..." The half dog demon grumbled as he observed Kagura and his brother thoughtfully. His keen sense of smell had just told him _everything_ that had transpired between the two lovers the night before.

"Oh hey Kagura! Sesshoumaru." Kagome said with a smile as she walked towards the entrance hall of her boyfriend's apartment, Shippou in her arms. "So, how was the gala? I want details!" She exclaimed happily.

Kagura blushed uncomfortably at her friend's question before answering "It was nice, but we didn't stay long..." She hoped her evasive answer would be enough to satisfy Kagome.

"Oh? Why not?" Kagome asked in surprise as she put down the red haired fox demon next to his father.

The wind sorceress tried coming up with a decent excuse, but her mind drew blank. Thankfully a sudden interruption from her daughter saved her.

"Sesshoumaru" Kanna breathed out as she extended her arms expectantly towards the dog demon. To the wind sorceress's surprise, he directly understood what the toddler wanted and took Kanna from her mother's embrace and tenderly cradled her in his arms before caressing her head.

"Kagome, why don't you give Kagura a tour of my brother's apartment? Inuyasha and I have some catching up to do." The dog demon addressed his brother's secretary.

"Oh hell no, I so don't want to talk about your romantic life, that's right up _Miroku's_ alley, not mine!" Inuyasha complained a horrified expression on his face.

"Let us go." Sesshoumaru said ignoring his brother's retort and verbal protest as he shoved Inuyasha towards the corridor of his own apartment. "Kanna, you can resume playing with Shippou." The dog demon addressed the child in his arms as he put her softly on the ground. Kanna wasted no time to comply as she walked towards her best friend.

"Walk faster." Sesshoumaru instructed as he pushed his brother forward once more.

"I believe it is time to put father's heirloom in the west to use." The dog demon said bearing his golden eyes into his younger brother's. The two of them were standing in Inuyasha's bedroom, facing each other, the door tightly closed.

Sesshoumaru did his best not to show any reaction to the lingering scents of both Inuyasha and Kagome, which gave him an open window into the couple's private life, which was more information than he cared to have ever found out.

"Hum interesting. Keh! What do you have in mind? A little road trip?" Inuyasha asked raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"What is it to you? This Sesshoumaru did not say you were invited..." The eldest sibling growled.

"Well as I do, you do know that in order to use the house you'd need my permission. Since we _both_ own the it after all..." Inuyasha trailed off inspecting his claws with a tiny smirk on his lips.

"Are you threatening me little brother?" The full fledged demon asked towering over Inuyasha, his golden eyes darkening in annoyance.

"No. My wench has been bugging me about the fact that I don't ever do anything special for her. She's been blabbering on and on about how I can be more romantic now that we don't have to hide no more..." He frowned remembering Kagome's words of the previous night. _'If only she knew I had reservations to that French restaurant she heard about, she wouldn't be bugging me that much.'_

"Why do you always have to try to steal what is mine? Even my ideas you have to try and appropriate Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru reflected on his relationship with his brother.

"Keh! Be honest don't you think that your witch would be glad to have her friends around?" The younger half sibling then suggested.

_'That idiot may not be wrong on this point...' _Sesshoumaru thought. "Fine you may come along."

"That road trip idea does sound good. Can the lecher come too?" Inuyasha asked scratching his twitching ear.

"I guess so. This Sesshoumaru is aware the two of you are inseparable, and have been for quite a long time." The older sibling answered with a mocking smirk.

"Very funny bastard. So when do we leave?" Inuyasha asked already picturing their trip.

"As soon as possible half-breed." Sesshoumaru shot back with a smirk as he turned around and walked out of his younger half sibling's bedroom.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Hey Kagome I have a question." Kagura said softly after she made sure Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were gone.

"I will answer if you tell me about what happened between Sesshoumaru and you. The way he looks at you makes me guess that something went on yesterday night..." The chocolate eyed woman retorted a shining light in her eyes.

"Forget it then" Kagura muttered with a frown.

"Okay, fine I'm sorry. What was it you wanted to ask?" The human said apologetically doing her best to keep a pout off her lips.

"How do you deal with your relationship with Inuyasha?... In particular the monetary aspect of it." Kagura let out, unsure if confiding into Kagome was a good idea. _'Then again it's not like I have anyone else to talk with...'_

"When I started seeing Inuyasha I was afraid of that. I'm sure you know all about the 'secretary dating her boss for his money and a promotion stereotype'. He wanted to protect me, in truth that's mostly why we had kept our relationship a secret for so long." The dark haired human said as she settled on the couch and with a hand gesture invited Kagura to join her.

"Protect and provide... I have more of a problem with the _provide_ part..." The wind sorceress remarked with a snort, rolling her eyes as she sat down on Inuyasha's dark red leather couch.

"If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Not only are they men, but they're also dog demons, which explains their protective behavior. All you have to do is slap his doggie paw away when he goes too far. For example I had to put my foot down when Inuyasha wanted to buy me a new car. One matching his vibrant red sports car to be precise..." Kagome trailed off with an amused chuckle. "The reason I'm with Inuyasha is because I love him, not because of his bank account. Inuyasha knows it, and so do I. And when all is said and done, it's all that matters, no?" Kagome finished a broad smile on her lips.

"I see." Kagura breathed out, her mind working fast. _'I guess Kagome and Sesshoumaru are right, I shouldn't worry about the whole money angle of our relationship. Damn it Kagura! You finally have a relationship with a caring, intelligent man, who gets along with your daughter, and all you can find to do is _doubt_?! I need to stop being a fool.'_ She berated herself._ 'Where _was_ this sense of doubt when I was getting deceived by Shinichi?' _She thought with a snort.

"If you're asking me all this, does it mean that you and Sesshoumaru are together?" Kagome asked a hopeful glint in her dark eyes.

"I'm still not telling." Kagura informed her with a smirk as she stood up.

"Fine! I'm giving up." The miko promised. _'At least for now...'_ She mentally added with a smirk. "Why don't we go to the park?" She then proposed a smile on her lips. Since she wanted to change Kagura's mind, and maybe make her confide some more into her, Kagome supposed a change of setting would help. The young human also figured playing outside would do the children some good.

"Oh yeah I want to play on the swings with Kanna." Shippou answered smiling broadly.

"I want to play too." Kanna said sending a smile at her mother.

"Then you guys put your coats on and we can leave." The wind sorceress smiled back.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Kagura's doubts have been laid to rest, for now? How will Kanna deal with the relationship of our fave couple? Next time we may find out what Sesshy has been plotting with Inuyasha. The chapter will be named **Explanations**.


	27. Explanations

_**Chapter 27: Explanations**_

A/N: Already 27 chapters? My but time flies! Thank you all for sticking with me and for reading, and especially reviewing:

**Killersupergirl** (Don't worry, much will be revealed in this chapter.)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Klv** (There's plenty more Kagura needs to learn about a true relationship... maybe Sesshy can help? Something tells me he wouldn't mind that much lol.)

**Kiari13**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Foxfire7**

**Bibliophile Nincompoop**

**Little25victor**

**Soojinyeh**

**XelaKitsune**

**ALLheartsONfraya**

**Psycho-pyro-shrink**

_On _

**Sovereignty** (There is going to be much more explained in this chapter. Hope you enjoy.)

**Zetsuii** (Road trip? What road trip? Lol. No need to worry; the story is far, _very_ _far_ from being over.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"Did you buy everything you needed?" Kagome asked her friend. The two young women were seated in the park, watching Shippou and Kanna play in a sandbox.

"Yeah. I'm good. Who would have thought I'd actually run out, and have to replenish my supplies? I guess I'm losing my touch." Kagura said as she fished the special project she had been working on for a while. "Red or blue?" She wondered aloud as her fingers worked quickly.

"Red wouldn't be a good idea, it's Inuyasha's color..." Kagome suggested. "When are you going to give to the big boss his present anyway?"

"As soon as I manage to finish it. It's crazy how little time I actually have to work on it. The last time I managed to get some work done was last Sunday when I was doing laundry while Sessh watched over Kanna. He initiated her to the joys of Disney movies through DVD's." The wind sorceress said not lifting her gaze from her project.

"Talking about Sesshoumaru, so tell me, what exactly happened yesterday?" Kagome tried to find out once again.

"You don't ever give up, do you?" Kagura asked with a smile before adding. "I told you. We went to the gala, and we left early because it was boring." She lied focusing her eyes on her handiwork.

Remembering exactly what had happened when they had left the gala; a red tinge appeared on Kagura's cheeks. As she recalled the incredible feelings and sensations Sesshoumaru had made her discover, her fingers started shaking so badly that she began having a hard time working on her surprise gift for her lover. She barely managed to muffle a curse when she prickled her finger. With a sigh she then gently sucked the drop of blood oozing from the shallow wound.

_`Damn that's all that bastard of Sesshoumaru's fault for turning me into such a pervert. Had I not known how good it could feel to be with him, he certainly wouldn't be on my damned mind all the freaking time!'_ The wind sorceress groaned trying to downplay her growing feelings for Sesshoumaru to be pure and simple lust.

"Oh I get it! Yesterday night, the two of you _got together_, didn't you? And I may not have a sensitive nose like Inuyasha, but I can tell you did _it_." Kagome exclaimed grinning happily. "I knew it! You're just so perfect for each other."

"Can you not gloat? It's annoying..." The wind sorceress said with a defeated sigh. She then put away her 'project' in her large purse, and got to her feet. _`It's not like I can get much work done anyway. Between the gloating Kagome and the vivid images of last night that keep on popping up in my mind…Funny that despite everything that's gone on in my life, it's only_ now _after being with Sesshoumaru that I just can't help but think about sex all the time.'_ The wind sorceress sighed heavily._'Who could have ever thought that ice cube would be the one to show me what passion felt like...'_

"But I'm right, aren't I?" The young human interrupted her friend's thoughts as she too stood up.

"Maybe..." The wind sorceress answered rolling her crimson eyes, a little sadistic smile on her lips. She then walked towards the children and asked "Who wants ice cream?"

_`Kagura has great evasion techniques.'_ Kagome though slightly unnerved her friend did not want to confide in her. _'If something happened between Inuyasha and me I'd tell her.'_

"Can we really get some?" Shippou asked emerald eyes shining with hopefulness.

"Sure Shippou-chan. I don't see why not; the weather is pretty warm for the beginning of spring. We just won't tell Inuyasha about the ice creams otherwise he'll be jealous and pout all day long... That is of course until we get him ramen... I have no idea who is the child between the two of you." Kagome said thoughtfully.

"Ice cream! Ice cream!" Shippou exclaimed happily. His enthusiasm reached Kanna and the little girl smiled happily too.

"I want vanilla and lemon." Kanna said pushing some of her pale blond bangs out of her dark eyes.

"She likes white a lot, doesn't she..." Kagome muttered under her breath with a little chuckle.

"So let's go!" Kagura said eagerly as she strapped her daughter carefully in her stroller before walking towards Kagome's car.

* * *

"Don't tell me, I'm sure it's Inuyasha who taught you to eat like that. Come on let's go get you cleaned up." Kagome said gently as she stood up with the young ice cream covered fox demon in her arms.

"We'll be right back." The young human called over her shoulder as she walked towards the bathroom of the ice cream parlor.

_'Maybe now would be the perfect opportunity to talk to Kanna. I hope she won't be upset to find out Sesshoumaru and I are together…'_ Kagura told herself as she gently wiped some ice cream from Kanna's cheeks.

"Tell me Kanna-chan, you like Sesshoumaru, don't you?" Kagura asked her daughter worriedly; slightly bouncing her on her knees, the way she knew Kanna enjoyed it the most.

"Yes." The toddler breathed out, not even turning around to face her mother. She was indeed at the moment more worried about her frozen delight. Disappointed to have finished her ice cream too soon, a pout on her lips, the little girl dropped her pink plastic spoon in her empty cup.

"So you wouldn't mind if I told you that now he's mommy's _special friend_? Kind of like Inuyasha and Kagome you see…" _`Damn I haven't had a boyfriend since she was born, so it's not like I know how to explain this all thing to her…Then again it was better for her never to have seen me with any of_ these _men.'_ The wind sorceress thought with a shiver of fright.

"No I don't mind." _`Wasn't Sesshoumaru already with mommy?'_ Kanna wondered surprised by her mother's questions. '_They are always together. They laugh together and they also argue_. _Just like Inuyasha and Kagome...'_ Kanna was not entirely sure she grasped exactly what her mother was telling her, but she decided not to ponder too much on it.

Aiming to make sure she truly understood how her daughter felt, the wind sorceress said "Oh I see. So it really doesn't bother you that mommy and Sesshoumaru are very close friends now?"

"No. I love Sesshoumaru almost as much as I love mommy." Kanna simply said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world before lying back against her mother's chest. Kagura was surprised by her daughter's sudden remark, but the innocent confession made her feel happy and relieved.

"That's good because mommy likes him very much too." The wind sorceress agreed with a smile, a faint blush on her cheeks. She then laced her arms around her daughter to give her a firm hug.

_'He managed to win the both of us over. Wouldn't that smug bastard of Sesshoumaru just be happy to hear that?...'_ Kagura thought with a smile.

"Mommy? Is he my daddy now?" Kanna then asked. Her seemingly innocent question made her mother jolt, and Kagura's heartbeat race. She was so shocked that she relinquished the hold she had on her daughter.

"No!" Her mother snapped, surprising Kanna by her harsh tone. "Sorry. I meant... well no." She let out in a strangled voice, trying to sound as calm, composed and soothing as possible.

_'It's one thing to date a woman with a child, but it's quite another to have said child see you as her father... I wouldn't want Sesshoumaru to be afraid and run away or for Kanna to have her hopes up and be hurt later on...' Kagura_ thought trying to explain her earlier reaction.

"It's kind of complicated Kanna-chan... you know adults and all. Well for example, even if Inuyasha and Kagome are together… well Shippou doesn't call her _mommy_, does he?" Kagura tried explaining awkwardly.

"But Shippou wants to! Inuyasha said he had to wait when he marry Kagome. Are you going to marry Sesshoumaru too?" The pale haired child asked turning around to look at her mother expectantly, a bright smile on her lips. At the prospect of having her mother and Sesshoumaru getting married, and of him becoming the father she had always wanted, but never had, her deep dark eyes shinned brightly in hopefulness.

_`Maybe I liked Kanna better when she did not speak after all…'_ Kagura thought resisting the urge to bash her head against a wall.

"People don't get married just because they are... good friends. That's too soon to tell baby... I don't know what's going to happen... Do you understand?" The wind sorceress tried and struggled to explain.

"Yes… But Sesshoumaru will stay with us forever?" The little girl then asked trying to understand what her mother was saying. Kagura was sure to have heard a note of hopefulness in her daughter's voice, and was not sure how to respond to that. In the end she decided there was no need to hurt her daughter's feelings.

"Yes." Kagura answered on a shaky tone. "Are you happy?"

"Yes very." Kanna answered back as she once more leaned back against her mother, a warm smile on her lips.

_'I'm definitely going to have to keep a close eye on the relationship between the two of them.'_ Kagura thought slightly worried Kanna had grown too attached to Sesshoumaru. _'Then again it's not like I have any intention of leaving him anytime soon, so there shouldn't be a major problem after all.'_ She thought to herself a smile appearing on her cherry lips.

* * *

"You and Kanna disappeared by the time Inuyasha and I were back in the living room." Sesshoumaru observed as he opened the door to his penthouse.

"Is that your way of asking where we were?" Kagura asked with a smile as she took Kanna out of her stroller. "I just had a small errand to run, then we went for ice cream with Kagome and Shippou." She explained as she took off her daughter's coat and let her roam free in the direction of her playpen.

"I see." Sesshoumaru answered as he browsed through his mail. He then looked at a small parcel and handed it to Kagura. "Your script."

"What is it?" She asked him. The answer to her question came quickly once she laid eyes on the parcel. "Oh for the ad's test shoot that's right."

"It is mostly the ideas we have come up with as you can see. The taping will take place in two weeks. Once it will be done, we will send it to subjects and based on their answers to the surveys, we will see if the clients will want to go through with the idea or not. If the clients like it, we will produce a large scale TV advertisement." The dog demon explained.

With a sigh, Sesshoumaru then walked over to his couch and settled down. His piercing golden eyes observed Kagura as she walked towards her daughter and crouched in front of her.

"Look at that Kanna-chan, we're going to be having so much fun shooting that commercial. Won't we?" The wind sorceress smiled to her daughter who was neatly piling up white building blocks in her playpen.

"Yes, you will." Sesshoumaru agreed as he got to his feet and reached over for the side table next to him.

"What are you doing?" Kagura asked him, raising to her full height.

"Ordering a pizza for dinner, which _you_ will be paying for, with the money _you_ _earned_." He informed her reaching for his phone.

"My my, so you do listen to what I tell you." Kagura remarked with a smirk. She then walked towards Sesshoumaru and to his surprise pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

"What's wrong?" The wind sorceress asked worriedly once she noticed he wasn't returning her kiss as he eagerly did the previous night.

The dog demon put down the phone and risked a glance towards Kanna. "Are you sure? Is it okay for Kanna to see us together?"

"Don't be silly. I already told her about us, and she's cool with it. I thought I told you before, Kanna likes you and she's very attached to you." The dog demon smirked at his girlfriend's revelation before turning around to get the phone again.

"She even asked if we were going to get _married_. I blame it on your brother seems like he's been talking about marrying Kagome with Shippou..." Kagura trailed off with an amused yet uncomfortable chuckle.

The dog demon was glad that he had his head turned away from Kagura, for her words had taken him by surprise. _'Marrying Kagura?'_ He repeated to himself his golden eyes opened wide. What surprised him the most was that the idea did not feel as revolting to him as he would have first expected. _'What is wrong with me?'_ He wondered frowning at his behavior and line of thought. _'I must be even more tired than I thought.'_ He justified his earlier reaction gently shaking his head in dismay.

Trying to mask from Kagura his reaction to her words, and regain his usual composure he took deep breaths and ignored the erratic beating of his heart, or the warm feelings in his chest.

Not getting any apparent answer from Sesshoumaru, the wind sorceress frowned slightly. "It's a crazy idea, no?" To her words, the dog demon merely gave a small shrug. The fact that Sesshoumaru had not reacted as she had expected, she decided to be safe and drop the subject.

"So, is that pizza supposed to be ordered and eaten tonight, or tomorrow?" Kagura asked him as she settled on the couch and turned the TV on. Teasing him to try to dissipate the sudden tension between them.

"Just because we are together, do not presume to start bossing me around." He growled even if he picked up the phone and quickly ordered their dinner, a pepperoni and pineapple pizza with anchovies on the side. Just like Kagura liked it, even if only the thought of the combination of these toppings made his stomach lurch.

* * *

"I have been meaning to tell you something." Sesshoumaru told the woman snuggled against him. He had thought about doing his announcement during dinner, but he was sure Kagura would appreciate being told before Kanna. Besides the little girl was having too much fun playing with her piece of pizza, and he did not want to disturb her.

_'During the past weeks, Kanna has really changed. She is starting to open up more and seems to be having more fun. Not to mention that she has started to eat more and looks healthier.'_ The dog demon thought happily of the toddler sleeping soundly in the guest bedroom.

"What's up?" The wind sorceress asked. She turned off the TV where the end credits to the movie she and Sesshoumaru had been watching were rolling. Kagura then sat up and placed her lover's arm around her shoulders.

"I talked to Inuyasha and we both thought it would be a good idea to take some time off work." He said bringing Kagura closer to his side.

"What do you mean?" She asked slightly scrunching her nose in confusion.

"My father owned a house in the west. It now belongs to Inuyasha and me of course. When it comes to architecture, the mansion itself is quite a sight to behold, but the interest I have in it is rather that it is a beach house. We would go there just for the weekend, in two weeks time when you are done with the test shoot." He said pressing a soft kiss to Kagura's forehead.

"You want to take us to your beach house... to see the sea?" Kagura asked her eyes shining brightly.

"You are not going to start arguing about this, are you? Just so you know it would not just be the two of us. We would bring Kanna of course. According to my father's will, I need my brother's approval to use the house, and when I mentioned my plan to Inuyasha he insisted to come along with Kagome and Shippou. And finally since my half brother seems not able to separate from his shadow, Miroku will be accompanying us as well with Sango." Sesshoumaru could not prevent a frown from appearing on his face. What he had planned to be a semi romantic getaway with his woman and her daughter had turned into a road trip with friends.

"Kanna will get to see the sea..." Kagura repeated once more, trying to wrap her mind around it.

"So will you." Sesshoumaru reminded her gently.

"You give me too much." She breathed out a frown marring her face.

_'On the contrary I do not give her enough.'_ Sesshoumaru thought. _'I may not know of all she had to endure while living under her father's roof, but I know that it was not an easy life. She does not realize she deserves so much better.'_ He knew that of course telling that to Kagura would not be a convincing explanation, so he decided to use another technique.

"First of all I am not doing this for you, but rather for myself. This Sesshoumaru has been working hard, and I deserve a break. Signing a contract with b-bags was a not easy, but I did it and therefore deserves a reward. I was thinking about going on vacation for a while now... But do not be mistaken, I do want to bring you and your daughter along. We all need some rest." He explained hoping to make the somber look on Kagura's face go away.

Meaning to amuse her he then added faking his old cold and authoritative tone "Besides this is one of the things you are not allowed to refuse. I will drag you along, even kicking and screaming." .

"I'd like to see that!" Kagura exclaimed even if she could not help but laugh whole heartedly as the image of him dragging her by force played in her mind.

"In any case, I believe Kanna would benefit greatly from going away for a little while. She would be pleased to be able to time playing with Shippou at the beach..." The dog demon trailed off with an unconcerned shrug.

"I get it. Fine you win. I guess I'll just have to let you realize my dream. Hum when I met you I guess I never would have been able to tell, but you're quite the prince charming Sesshy." _'What a hypocrite I am. Just this morning I was mad at him for buying me things, and now I gladly accept to let him pay for a vacation at the sea? I feel like I'm the one who's using him. Guess I really am Naraku's daughter...'_ Kagura thought angry at herself.

Sesshoumaru noticed her upset even though she was trying to mask it. He gently cradled her face in his hands and looking down into her deep crimson eyes spoke. "If aiming to make someone I care about happy makes this Sesshoumaru a prince charming, then I accept the title gladly."

"You just want to make me happy." Kagura breathed out, warmed crimson eyes locked on his golden orbs.

"I was referring to Kanna, not you." He could not help but tease the woman staring up at him. His remark made Kagura forget her doubts for a second and gain back her fiery temperament.

"You're such a jerk, you know that? Anyways that was not even a funny joke." Kagura pointed out glaring at him, a small smile on her lips.

"It was indeed not a joke of the best taste." He admitted glad to have brought a smile back to his girlfriend's face. _'She is so beautiful when she smiles. This is how I wish to see her forever.'_

The dog demon had devised a simple plan to make sure Kagura would agree to go to the little vacation he was planing. Following Inuyasha's advice he had first decided to emphasize to the wind sorceress that the trip did not concern just the two of them. He then decided to try to show to Kagura that everything was not about her, but that in fact he was taking time off for himself, and that the location had been chosen for Kanna's benefit, not her mother's. Sesshoumaru hoped that trying to blur the fact that he was indeed organizing the trip because of Kagura's dream would make it easier for her to accept his offer. He could not help rejoicing when it appeared to him that he had succeeded.

_'Everything went on perfectly as planned.'_ He thought unable to mask his victorious smirk.

"You are happy." The dog demon stated as a question. Even if he was sure Kagura would be glad at the prospect of making her dream come true, and that he intended to make sure she would be happy, the dog demon did not want to push her or force her into doing something she did not wish to do.

"Let's see. I have a boyfriend who decides to use his vacation time to please my daughter and me? Now what woman in her right mind wouldn't rejoice?" Kagura asked him with a smile.

"Good it is all that matters." Sesshoumaru smiled back at her.

_'Sesshoumaru's right. There's nothing wrong with him trying to make me happy. All I have to do is return the favor. I may not have the kind of money he has, but there are other ways to make him happy.'_ Kagura thought pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. Quickly her kisses moved from his cheek to his lips, and the dog demon welcomed them with an open mouth.

_'I can't believe I could have doubted Sesshoumaru for even a second. Despite how much of a burden I may be, he's always so loving, caring and tender with me, which is quite different from the side of his personality he showed me when we first met... That's way in the past, and doesn't matter anymore. Now it's our shared future that's important , and I'll do everything I can to protect it.'_ The wind sorceress thought increasing the force of her kisses.

As their kisses grew hotter, Kagura pulled away with a giggle. "Let's go to bed. You deserve a little treat for being one hell of a great boyfriend." She said running her hand over his chest. Her crimson eyes burned with her desire for him.

The gentle caress caused him to growl softly, but something occurred to him. As much as it pained him to do it, he placed his hands on her shoulder and pushed her away from him.

"What about Kanna?" He asked his voice slightly shaking. Having to hold Kagura away from him was harder than he thought it could be.

"What about her? She's sleeping, and she won't wake up for quite some time..." The wind sorceress retorted as she broke free from his restraint and leaned forward for a quick kiss. "Besides..." She added as she got to her feet. "I got a little something I am sure you will be happy about."

The dog demon watched her with interest as she leaned over to reach for the side table next to the couch where she was sitting. From it Kagura retrieved a small device, which to Sesshoumaru's surprise he had not even noticed. He blamed his lack of attention on the strong attraction he had for Kagura.

_'That witch seems to be able to monopolize all my thoughts.'_ He thought unsure if he was to rejoice, or be worried.

"Here it is!" Kagura exclaimed proudly as she showed her latest purchase to her lover.

"What is it?" He raised an eyebrow in surprise, his eyes rived on the object she held in her hands..

Before answering, Kagura scooted over to the side then settled on his lap. "It's a baby monitor. Thanks to this, even though I don't sleep in the same room as Kanna, I can know if she needs me or something..."

"How long will it take you to set this thing up?" He asked as he stood up, effortlessly lifting Kagura in his arms, walking towards the bedrooms.

"I already did when I put Kanna to bed. It's all operational. Why, can you think of a better way for me to spend my time?" She chuckled as he gave her neck a small punitive nibble for teasing him.

"I may indeed have an idea. A very _nice_ idea..." Sesshoumaru answered with a grin.

A shiver due to the many pleasures she was sure were to come ran through Kagura. The dog demon could not prevent a small smirk from appearing on his lips at the fact that his simple words could have such an effect on his lover.

'_We'll just have to see how she reacts to more than my words...'_ He then thought with a proud smirk as he walked into his bedroom carrying his woman in his arms.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Woo long chapter! It's getting harder to have their mutual feelings be uncovered without showing you guys too much lol. Anyway things are sailing smoothly for our couple. In the next chapter, the lights will shine on Kagura and her daughter, it will be named **Front curtain.**


	28. Front curtain

_**Chapter 28: Front curtain**_

A/N: I haven't received as many reviews for the past chapter as usual. Therefore I'm wondering if the story is becoming a little boring or repetitive, if so I'll get things moving a little faster, let me know :)

Once again thanks so much guys for reviewing:

**Killersupergirl** (The next chapter will mark the beginning of he beach trip, which I'm sure you'll be pretty aexcited.)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Kiari13**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Foxfire7**

**Little25victor**

**Soojinyeh**

**Flam1ng1c3**

_On _

**Zetsuii** (I'm glad you enjoyed the romance. There's going to be much more coming soon.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"You are not nervous, are you?" Sesshoumaru gently asked his girlfriend of now a month. The dog demon still was surprised how things were going smoothly between them. To him, time also strangely seemed to go by much faster with Kagura and Kanna by his side.

"No, so there's really no need for you to be here." Kagura answered to the disapproval of the young woman carefully applying make up to her face. Had it not been for the presence of the dog demon she would have glared at Kagura, whose movements made it hard for her to work easily.

"This Sesshoumaru merely wants to make sure everything goes on smoothly during the shoot." He lied with a snort. In truth he had more pressing matters to take care of at the office, but he simply could not fathom not being here for Kagura and her daughter.

"Whatever. Stay if you want." The wind sorceress told him with a knowing smirk, looking at him from the corner of her eyes. _'My my isn't he an overprotective dog? Has he forgotten that I'm the one who makes his schedule? I know he purposely pushed some meetings back to be able to be with Kanna and me now. That's kind of touching.'_

Kagura was suddenly thrown out of her reverie when the door of the trailer where she and her daughter were getting ready was suddenly opened forcefully.

"Miss Kagura are you done getting ready?" None other than Tanuki, the younger representative from B-bags barged in. His red eyes glowed when he spotted Kagura being dressed in sharp dark dress pants and a white silk shirt.

"Wow Miss Kagura you look positively gorgeous this morning." The stunned raccoon youkai stammered having a hard time finding his words. He then could not help but smile broadly at the wind sorceress.

"Get out of here! They are obviously not done getting ready otherwise they would be out on the set." Sesshoumaru growled as he suppressed the urge to throw out his employer. _'That idiot, for all he knew Kagura might have been in the middle of dressing!'_ The thought only enraged him even more.

"Please forgive me Sesshoumaru-sama, I did not mean anything bad. I only wanted to make sure that Kagura-san and her daughter were okay. Once again forgive me." Tanuki said with a small bow as he quickly scampered outside.

"Hum, territorial much. Is it because he has a crush on me that you practically threw the poor man out of here?" Kagura mocked looking at her boyfriend's frowning face. Even if she did not let it out, she was amused by Sesshoumaru's reaction. _'Seems like my doggy is indeed jealous and very protective.'_

"Do not be ridiculous. He just needs to be taught a lesson, and learn to knock on doors. Especially when women could be in the middle of dressing." He scoffed feeling discomfort at being found out so easily.

"What the fuc... hell do you think you're doing?" Kagura suddenly exclaimed as she turned around to glare at the woman who had dared touch her bun.

"As much as the feathers are a nice addition, you've got to lose this outdated hairdo." The young makeup artist and hairdresser explained herself.

"Leave it." Sesshoumaru instructed. He was not entirely sure why Kagura was reacting this way, but by the expression on her face he knew that if the young human did not stay away from Kagura's hair, she would lose an arm courtesy of a wind blade.

"Fine." The young employee said with a sigh as she moved over to the next chair where Kanna was busy looking at herself in a mirror; happily admiring her brand new white dress. The female employee took out her makeup box and was about to add some color on Kanna's pale face when she was interrupted.

"Don't even think about it, unless you want to lose some limbs." Kagura spat narrowing her eyes in anger, resisting the urge to take out her fan.

"She looks so pale that she looks sick, so I need to add some color on her cheeks." The young makeup artist defended herself again.

"That will not be necessary. You can leave." The dog demon dismissed her. With a shrug of her shoulder, the young human packed up her belongings and left the trailer, cursing under her breath.

_'Even though I am used to the practice and have been in the business for long and do understand her recommendation, I simply am not comfortable with the idea of make up being applied to our little girl.'_ Sesshoumaru thought not even registering his growing attachment to Kanna.

"Ready?" The dog demon asked as he walked over to his girlfriend.

Kagura picked up her daughter and after pressing a quick kiss to Sesshoumaru's lips, spoke. "Yep. Let's go."

The three of them walked out of the trailer together, heading towards the set of the commercial shoot.

* * *

"What the hell is this? You call these bags? Tanukiiiii!" A tall blond haired woman screeched at the top of her lungs.

"Yes Miss Shuhei." The raccoon demon answered quickly, running up to the beautiful eagle youkai hired to direct the test shoot for the company he worked for.

"Stop using my last name!" She snapped, her yellow eyes shining brightly. "Call me Sondai, I always use my first name when I start shooting. Anyway the color of these bags is keeping my creativity from flowing easily. Get rid of them and bring new ones. A darker color will do." The director gave out her instructions.

"Of course. I apologize for disappointing you." Tanuki sighed nervously after replacing his thin glasses over his nose. "Our choice was unsatisfactory, but I will solve the problem immediately." He then added a shy smile on his lips.

"Yeah do that... now!" Sondai added letting out an exasperated sigh. The young raccoon demon wasted no time to go fulfill her order.

"Ugh she's got him wrapped around her little finger; that's truly pathetic." Kagura commented as she shook her head softly. She, Sesshoumaru and Kanna had assisted to the entire exchange between Tanuki and Sondai.

"Hum. Upset that he does not have eyes only for you anymore. Was it a trace of jealousy I heard my dear?" Sesshoumaru teased her lightly. In truth the dog demon was quite happy to see the b-bags representative attracted to another woman.

_'Tanuki and Shuhei? Now that would be an interesting couple. Though I have been working with Sondai too long to know that the two of them will never end up together.'_ Sesshoumaru thought to himself.

"As if!" The wind sorceress scoffed aware her boyfriend was just teasing her.

"Everyone gather up!" Sondai ordered, her hard dark yellow eyes looking over the entire set, ready to point out any mistakes.

"Okay. So you all know... or rather are supposed to know the script. Just in case, I still am going to remind you because I really am not sure the lot of you are really reliable.." The eagle demoness sighed before taking a deep breath.

"The scene takes place in the morning in an apartment. The mother is late for work, and her babysitter is MIA so she has to take her daughter along. Her angry boss calls her for what seems to be the hundredth time. At this point you've got to look really annoyed since the boss is stressing the woman about the files she has to turn in. But she doesn't have enough space in her purse to take along all she needs for her daughter and the precious heavy files. What will the woman do?" The director started with large hand and arm gestures, trying to make Kagura and Kanna understand what she was expecting from them.

"Luckily for her, the mother has the latest diaper bag from b-bags and she is then able to stuff all her personal belongings, her daughter's things, and her precious files in the bag." Sondai Shuhei, the director said as she walked to the side to once more check on the lights.

Then as she noticed that Tanuki was back with the new bag she had asked for, she allowed a small smile to appear on her usually cold and cruel lips. _'My he is quite a useful and effective little errand boy.'_ Sondai thought to herself. Her smile was replaced by a frown when she noticed that his appearance had managed to make her stop her explanation.

"Where was I again? Oh yes." The director said aloud, her hard yellow eyes once more scanning the cast and crew around her.

"The woman arrives at the office, and everything goes smoothly. Then you..." She interrupted herself to point to Kagura. "You finally exclaim, holding the bag high, looking straight into the camera, a bright smile on your lips '_Wherever you go, whatever you do. It will never fail you'._ The shoot ends with a close up on the boss congratulating the mother." The director said with a satisfied sigh as she headed back towards her camera.

"Yeah I know that since I helped create the ideas behind the commercial, not to mention that I got it before the FIFTH time you explained the damn thing at the rehearsals!" The wind sorceress growled with irritation.

"Hmpf. You're only an amateur, the great artistic genius that I am merely wants to make sure that my creativity will not be hindered by your lack of experience. For the life of me I still don't see why they hired you. I mean it's not like you're gorgeous or anything... Anyways this is just the test shoot and not the real thing, so luckily your face won't be representing the brand, and when we do the final shoot I'll be able to work with a _real_ actress." The director said on a mocking tone after settling behind her camera, glaring daggers at Kagura, who was holding her daughter tightly.

"Why you little bitc..." Kagura started, her crimson eyes burning brightly.

"Oh Miss Sondai, I am sure Kagura-san is going to do very well. She is a very intelligent and creative woman, just as you are." Tanuki intervened, trying to calm down the two female demons, a bright smile on his lips.

_'I hope they will not start fighting. Not only wouldn't I want to see Kagura and Sondai argue, but I also hope to get home early, I did promise mom that I'd be there in time for dinner. It is pasta night tonight after all...'_ The raccoon demon thought about his living situation. As much as he adored his mother, the bachelor did wish to be more independent.

_'I guess that's why I admire women like Kagura and Sondai so much; they are not only beautiful, but also so strong. They unlike me certainly wouldn't have any trouble moving out of their mother's house…'_ Tanuki then blushed slightly as he realized where his thoughts had taken him.

"Indeed Shuhei, this will be enough directions for now." Sesshoumaru told the young and beautiful eagle demoness. The dog demon could tell that Kagura was getting angrier by the second, but he did not feel like getting in the middle of a fight between his girlfriend and the arrogant and demanding director his company usually employed. Sondai was renowned to be quite a pain to work with, despite her great talent.

"Do your best Kagura, Kanna." Sesshoumaru then added with a reassuring smile aimed at his girls.

"Fine. Let's just get on with this." Kagura muttered pacified by her boyfriend's words of encouragement,. She did however send one last annoyed glare to Sondai as she put her daughter on the ground and got ready to shoot the first scene.

* * *

"Ugh I thought this was never going to end. I had no idea this whole thing was going to be so much work when I agreed to do this advertising thingy." Kagura complained as she opened up the passenger door of Sesshoumaru's car and settled inside.

"Good work. It is now time for a reward." Sesshoumaru informed his girlfriend as he finished strapping the sleepy Kanna in her car seat. He then closed the door of his car, making as little noise as possible, not to disturb Kanna, and settled in the driver's seat.

"Well..." Kagura interrupted herself to press a quick kiss to her unsuspecting boyfriend's cheek before adding with a chuckle "This is a good enough reward for me. On second thought, a nice dinner and a bath wouldn't be that bad either."

"Really? How about a week away by the seashore?" He asked with a seductive smirk as he started his car.

"A _week_? I thought you said we'd go away just for a weekend? Taking a week off costs a lot of money. Not to mention that you have so much stuff to work on at the office right now..." Kagura protested meekly. To her embarrassment, despite her will to protest, she could already picture her daughter playing in the sand, or the sound of waves playing in her ears as she lazily lay in bed next to Sesshoumaru. Only picturing those blissful moments made her crimson eyes take on a faraway look.

"Kagura I will not repeat myself. Do _not_ make money an issue. We will be staying at my father's vacation house therefore we will not have to spend that much money. Besides Inuyasha and Miroku are contributing as well. Also do remember that as soon as we step out of the office you stop being my secretary and are my girlfriend. Now it is true that I do have work to do, but it isn't anything that cannot be done by communicating over the phone or through email. Besides this Sesshoumaru is the CEO therefore if I wish to take time away from the company, _I will._" The dog demon explained.

"By the way, I meant to ask you something. Since you _are_ the big boss how come you actually have to work on campaigns and deal with annoying clients and stuff?" She asked him a thoughtful frown on her brows as she recalled the insufferable Mrs. Yamashita.

"It is simple. When I inherited the company from my father after his untimely death, I was very young and barely out of college. Therefore in order for the board members to back me up, and the shareholders not sell their shares of the company, which surely would have caused its ruin, I needed to prove my worth." The dog demon explained with a shrug, making a sharp turn with his car.

"In other words you are now acting CEO but you also have to work just as hard as any other employee, if not way more, to show those old bats you deserve to be the boss?" Kagura remarked with a thoughtful expression.

"Precisely." He answered with a nod pleased by Kagura's deduction skills. _'As much as I hate it, I have to listen to these 'old bats' as Kagura put it... At least for now, but one day I will take my independence from these idiotic scared useless so called entrepreneurs.'_ The dog demon vowed to himself.

Ever since he had taken over his father's agency, Sesshoumaru had improved it greatly, but the dog demon still felt limited in his work due to the older shareholders, who often times refused to follow or back up his inventive new ideas to make the advertising agency even more successful.

_`Oh yes one day they definitely will not be able to stop me anymore.'_ Only thinking with longing about the time he would become independent, Sesshoumaru could not prevent his jaw from tightening. _`Hopefully this day will come very soon.'_

"I see... Oh, I almost forgot! Before we go on our little trip, I do have to send those surveys to the mailing list of the center I talked to you about. Now that we're done shooting the test ad..." She said cursing herself for forgetting.

"I remember, the center that assists young mothers, right?" He asked recalling a conversation they had had previously in his office.

"Yep. They helped me so much when I just had Kanna. I had no idea how to care for a baby, but they gave me tons of advice on how to take care of her and stuff... It'd be great if some of the young mothers involved with them could not only help us by giving their opinions on the b-bags product, but also be able to make money by answering the survey... Ten bucks can buy you some formula." The wind sorceress explained happily.

"We are leaving early tomorrow morning, and it will take Sondai around three days to finish editing the film, so I doubt you will have time to mail those forms, but you can defer the task to Mika." Sesshoumaru offered for an answer.

'_As much as I hate it, she is the only person able to take on such a task. Since Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango and Miroku will be leaving with us, there will not be that many capable people left at the office. I need all the other more competent employees to work on more important tasks.'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a slight frown.

"Ugh can she really be trusted to do that? She will have to sort out between who is in our target group, or even who is still a getting helped at the center. From what I saw on the mailing list I got from them, most women are not involved with them anymore. I'd be the perfect example. Even if I'm still on their database, they obviously have my old address, and anyway since Kanna's a big girl now, I wouldn't even be in our target group for the ad. " Kagura explained thoughtfully.

"Hum my dear by the sound of it, it seems you are now truly immersed in the advertising business." Sesshoumaru could not help but remark with a proud smirk.

"Well I did have one heck of a good teacher." She purred seductively as she ran her hand over his thigh.

"Do not worry everything will work out. Starting from now, we are on leave and therefore we do not have to bother about such things anymore. At least not for a week." He reassured her with a bright smile taking his hand away from the wheel to give a gentle squeeze to her small limb resting on his thigh.

"Yes except packing our bags. If only you had told me we were leaving so soon I would have packed up earlier. No matter, soon it will be just us and the beach!" Kagura exclaimed happily turning around to flash her daughter a smile, to her delight Kanna, who had just awakened from her light sleep looked up from Kuma-chan, the small white stuffed toy she was playing with, and smiled back at her mother.

The small exchange did not escape Sesshoumaru's sharp golden eyes and a smile on his lips he averted his gaze from the rear view mirror to the street in front of him.

_'Yes US is all that matters. Just the three of us.'_ The dog demon thought with a contended smile.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Hum time for some time off and a nice deserved break. Will everything go on well? Let's find out in the first part of their gateway, **Road trip**. Oh and to all of you fans of awkward thirty something shy men still living with their mothers, rejoice, Tanuki will make other appearance(s?) later on in the story :p So will of course his boss Mrs. Yamashita, and maybe even Sondai... Enough spoilers for today.

Lastly I'll be swamped with work next week, so I can't promise an update, though I'll try very hard not to leave you hanging for too long ^_^


	29. Road trip

_**Chapter 29: Road trip**_

A/N: A shorter chapter (not that short though) because I really didn't have much time to myself this week. I still hope you'll enjoy. Unfortunately I doubt there's going to be an update next week. :(

Thank you to all my dear reviewers

**Killersupergirl** (A happy family indeed. There will be more cute chapters coming... or maybe some drama. We'll see.)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Foxfire7**

**Little25victor**

**Soojinyeh**

**Dogsfang** (Thanks for the nice PM)

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**DeathAngel**

**Mlkoolc86**

**LuciusM101**

**Klv (x2)** (I like Tanuki. Although contrary to the other men in the story he is quite weak. I will try to give him a happy ending though. Thanks for the comforting words.)

_On _

**Zetsuii** (The beach will be fun... before the drama kicks in. Sesshy is a loving guy, it's just buried behind his hard facade.)

**Sovereignty Congrats on leaving the 50th** **review!** (Hope you'll enjoy this chapter too)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"You know Sessh, I can't believe you let Jaken in charge of the office." Inuyasha said noisily burying his hand into a bag of potato chips.

"I can't believe you're stuffing your face like that; especially considering we just had lunch two hours ago!" Kagome muttered giving her boyfriend a reproachful glance.

_'I can't believe Kagome talked me into buying a bikini. Then again it's Sessh's fault for only giving me only an hour to shop before leaving.'_ Kagura though to herself a frown on her brows. _'But I'm sure Sesshy will like it..._' She added with a smirk, images of their lustful time together the night before playing in her head. _'Who could have thought that hidden under his frosty appearance lived such an insatiable man?'_

_'I can't believe I agreed to drag this band of moron with us!'_ Sesshoumaru fumed inside, tightening his hand on the wheel of the rental van. He then rolled his eyes to the side and simply looking at Kagura's happy smile made his anger and frustration melt away.

"I can't believe you people stuck me between the two car seats! And with a cat on my lap." Miroku whined from the back seat of the van. He hated the fact that not only he was stuck in between Shippou and Kanna, but he also had Kirara placed on his knees, preventing him from making any type of movement.

Unconcerned by the grown-ups bickering, the two toddlers were taking a light nap, happily digesting their lunch.

"Well lecher, I can't believe you tried to grope me so many times in such a closed space. " Sango hissed angrily, a light blush on her cheeks. "You know it's the reason we had to put you in a safe environment."

"Silence all of you. If you wake up the children, this Sesshoumaru will be sure to make you pay." As soon as he issued his threat complete silence fell over the car. Even Inuyasha's eating was mostly silent.

"Wow. You've got to teach me how to shut them all up like that..." Kagura whispered in her lover's ear, a grin on her lips.

"Don't worry I will later on." He whispered back to her seductively.

"Feh you two are really disgusting, being all lovey-dovey like that." Inuyasha commented as he noisily crumpled with his hand his empty bag of chips. His remark earned him a sharp glare from his older brother through the rear view mirror.

Feeling an argument brewing, Kagome decided to intervene by providing a distraction. "Hey you guys, I borrowed this book from my grandfather. It describes the nature of different demons. I just thought it'd be fun. Who wants to go first?"

"Me I do!" Shippou exclaimed enthusiastically from the backseat.

"Keh! Since when are you awake runt?" Inuyasha asked as he turned around to look at his son securely strapped in the back.

"Kagome! Inuyasha insulted me!" The fox demon complained with fake teary eyes.

"Feh when are you going to start calling me _dad_? Or even better yet _honorable father_!" The hanyou shot back at his son.

_'Calling that imbecile of Inuyasha honorable father? Hum probably when pigs fly.'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a small smirk.

"Probably when you'll stop calling him a _runt_. Now you two behave!" Kagome ordered her boyfriend and his son. The scolding caused the two to pout slightly.

"Hum Kagome I am impressed. I have to admit I quite enjoy it when women are able to take charge..." Miroku chuckled as he leaned forward towards Kagome's seat. Disturbed by his movement, Kirara jumped over from his lap to Sango's.

"Silence you perverted man!" Sango snapped as she suddenly turned around to slap her boyfriend. With a huff she then gently petted her cat. _'How dare he try to flirt with my best friend right in front of me?'_

"Don't get the wrong idea my dear Sango I only love you." The purple eyed human said trying to save the nasty situation he had just put himself in. "Even if to be honest I must say that I always found Kagome kind of sexy in a girl next door kind of way, it really is appeal..."

"Are you trying to make a pass at my girl?" Inuyasha interrupted him, flexing his claws in anger. The inu hanyou felt a surge of anger go through him due to Miroku's words. Best friend or not, any man trying to seduce his woman would feel his wrath.

"Don't get mad... it... it was only a joke." The human man defended himself shaking his hands furiously.

"Didn't I tell you all to shut your mouths?" Sesshoumaru growled feeling his irritation growing._'These idiots already woke up the children! If they cause me to have a headache I will mercilessly kill them.'_

"Don't get that mad, and don't let them ruin our time away." Kagura murmured gently to the demon next to her, trying to ease his anger. "Anyway Kagome what were you saying about your grandfather's book or whatever?"

"Oh yeah. Let me see what they say about fox demons... Ah here it is... Fox demons are known to be smart, mischievous demons, who love playing tricks on people. They are however renowned to be cowardly." Kagome read before adding with a smile "When it comes to Shippou-chan I'm sure he's not like that. He is very brave, even if he's quite the trickster." The miko chuckled slightly amused.

"Feh! Shippou's a trickster alright..." Inuyasha mumbled under his breath, recalling how only the previous week his son had put some paint in his bottle of shampoo. _'Lucky for him Kagome was able to get that damn red color out. Hum makes me wonder what I'll do without my wench.'_ He wondered once again pleasantly surprised to see how much of a large part Kagome now played in his life.

"What does it say about dog demons?" Miroku asked from the backseat.

"Give me a sec... here it is. Dog demons are very protective of people they are close to and consider members of their packs; especially their mates. They are fiercely loyal and do everything to protect and provide for their loved ones... Aw that's so romantic and cute." Kagome said as she instinctively leaned against her boyfriend's shoulder, looking for some of Inuyasha's comforting warmth.

"Is there a chapter on annoying humans in your book as well?" Sesshoumaru asked rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Don't be so sour, that's kind of fun. So what about wind demons?" Kagura said giving her boyfriend's thigh a small punitive slap.

"Let's see. Wind demons hate being tied down, restricted or forced to do things. They have a tendency to go against orders and are renowned to be pigheaded and strong willed." Once she finished the miko had a slight blush on her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"To what? Everything you said was absolutely true, and there's nothing wrong with that." Kagura said with a proud smile.

"Oh okay..." Kagome mumbled unsure how to respond. Seeing the perfect opportunity, she quickly added as she turned around to look at the white haired toddler. "Well what kind of demon is Kanna?"

"Well... hum... she is a void youkai." Kagura breathed out reluctantly.

Her answer made Sesshoumaru observe her thoughtfully from the corner of his eye. _'Void demons are extremely rare. That useless Shinichi did not seem to be one, so I do wonder how come Kanna is...'_ The realization that he did not even know Kanna's breed made him think. _'I should know this kind of information. I guess it is time for Kagura and me to have a deeper discussion on our respective backgrounds. Being in father's home will be sure to create such an opportunity.'_

"I've never heard about this type of demon before." Miroku said impressed as he looked at the little girl seated next to him. Despite his family's history with demons, and his spiritual powers, he had never encountered a demon such as her. As he paid a closer attention to her demonic aura, he did notice that it was indeed unusual.

"They are a very rare breed of youkai." Sango said with a nod basing her answer on her family's demon slayer's heritage. Due to it, ever since her youth she had been taught about demons.

"Okay here we go. It says in the book that void demons are very rare. They do not process feelings and emotions the same way other people do. They can seem cold or detached to others, but they in truth are very sensitive people. When they do get attached to someone, they become very loyal to him or her, and never want to leave their side." Kagome read before adding "Wow how fascinating. I guess it explains Kanna's behavior since I have never seen a little girl as nice and well behaved as her." The miko said offering an awkward comforting smile.

"How interesting indeed. Is Kanna's father a void demon as well? That would be a plausible explanation since her mother is a _delectable_ wind goddess." Miroku asked thoughtfully, wincing when he noticed Sango's glare.

"This does not concern you." Sesshoumaru informed his employee as to his surprise, he could easily tell that the subject was making Kagura feel uncomfortable. He gave her a soften glance, aiming to comfort her, but she did not see it as she was looking out the window, a frown on her face. "In any case, we have arrived at the house." The dog demon said as the van entered a massive courtyard.

His sudden announcement was met by sighs of happiness and relief from all the occupants of the car. As soon as the vehicle was parked, everyone came out. Kagura and Kagome both went to the back of the van to free the restless Shippou and Kanna.

"Wow" The wind sorceress breathed out in awe as she stood next to her boyfriend, her daughter in her arms. When the dog demon had told her that his late father's villa was a sight to behold, he had not been lying.

"It's a beautiful house." She noted suppressing the urge to squeal in amazement, excitement and happiness. Never in her wildest dreams could Kagura have ever thought about staying in such a luxurious place.

"You have yet to see the inside of it. The house is decorated in quite a tasteful way." Sesshoumaru said with a smile before pressing a small kiss to Kagura's cheek and gently ruffling Kanna's bangs.

"I can't wait." The wind sorceress said with one of the brightest smiles Sesshoumaru had ever seen on her face. Its beauty simply took his breath away, and melted his heart even more.

"Well what I can't wait to find out is how we are going to be rooming." Miroku said with a grin. He chuckled gently as his hand traveled to his girlfriend's behind.

"I will definitely NOT be sleeping in the same room as you!" Sango said her cheeks burning crimson in anger and embarrassment as she turned to her side to slap Miroku. She took her cat in her arms and stomped away unhappily, with her apologetic boyfriend on her heels, professing his undying love for her.

"Why on earth did I agree to bring these morons along again?" Sesshoumaru asked himself with a tired sigh, for what seemed to him to be hundredth time.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Small cute interlude chapter. I hope you found the whole thing instructive and fun. Next time we'll see how things go down during their little trip. The next chapter will be named **Fun and games**. As I said before I seriously doubt I'll be able to post a chapter next week. I once again apologize and hope to see you soon.


	30. Fun and games

_**Chapter 30: Fun and games**_

A/N: Hello it's been a while, no? Sorry about that. Saphira has just been swamped with school work, but I've got this new pure fluffy and fun chapter, which is longer than the previous one. From now on I'll try my best to keep up with my usual updating pattern :)

I've been getting tons of inspiration lately, and I think we have the new Inuyasha anime to thank for that. Have you watched the latest episode? No matter how many time I see Kagura's death scene I still tear up. How I miss her… well there's always fanfics yay!

Onto happier news, I was pleased (and speechless) to find out that my story has been nominated for an award on the website `The _readers have chosen'_ crazy, no? If you feel like checking out their website or voting for the only Sessh/Kagura story in the running (Ku ku ku one step closer to world domination by my OTP lol).

I know that was one long note, but here's the last piece. I'd like once again to thank all of you for reviewing. I'm so glad to see I've received more than **400** reviews!

**Killersupergirl** (After a little wait, here's your update.)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**ArtemisdelaLune (Congrats on leaving the 400threview)**

**Foxfire7**

**Soojinyeh**

**DeathAngel69**

**LuciusM101**

**Hellina-Berinelli (x6 I think that's a record lol)**

**Kiari13**

**Klv** (All about Kanna will be explained later on; you'll just have to be a little patient dear reader.)

**Anonymous reviewer** (Indeed Sesshoumaru has himself to blame. The provenance of Kanna's genes will be explored at some point. But knowing how I enjoy torturing my readers, it might take a while lol)

_On _

**Zetsuii** (More fluff on the way. Explanations will come slowly, but you can try to piece the puzzle together :P )

**FatalFelineOfTheNight** (Thanks for the nomination!)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"Come on stop pouting Sessh. Who cares about that band of annoying idiots, be glad that we get to have fun here together." Kagura said from inside the bathroom of the master bedroom, which she and Sesshoumaru were sharing.

"Hum-uh" Sesshoumaru agreed absent mindedly. He was looking through the large glass doors leading to the balcony, which was towering over the private beach attached to the large plot his father had built the summer house on. The dog demon was impatiently waiting for his girlfriend to finish changing into her bathing suit, so they could join the others on the sun warmed thin sand he could see down there.

"So how do I look?" The wind sorceress asked seductively as she sexily and seductively removed the bathrobe she had cloaked herself in. She then threw on the large bed the terry cloth robe and placed her hands on her hips, posing, waiting for her boyfriend's reaction.

Sesshoumaru took his time admiring the appealing sight in front of him. He tried swallowing, his throat suddenly feeling dry; the reason being his girlfriend's appearance. The wind sorceress was wearing a very curve fitting red bikini adorned with thin white stripes and butterflies, which did not leave much to his imagination.

_'She is perfect.'_ He thought to himself, feeling desire for his woman growing inside him.

"We are in the middle of May; the weather may still be a little cold, maybe you should wear something warmer." He suggested taking a hold of her discarded bathrobe and handing it to her.

His protective reaction made Kagura laugh aloud. "It's my first time to see the sea, so even if the water was frozen, I'd still try swimming in the ocean. Anyway don't think I don't know what's wrong with you. Just so you know; there's no need to get jealous. I only have eyes for you." She swore walking towards him to give him a firm hug.

"It is not _your_ eyes I am worried about, but rather the wandering eyes of other people..." He muttered lowering his hand to the small of her back to press her even closer to him.

"Don't worry it's a private beach, and if Miroku so much as gets a few inches too close to me Sango will neuter him, that's if I don't get to him first... And Inuyasha? Pfft Kagome has him in the palm of her hand. Besides even if they look, no one else but you can touch." Kagura said pressing a small kiss to the side of his neck before giving his sensitive skin a small nibble.

"Are you sure you want to get down there?" He asked fingering the tie to her bikini top, resisting the urge to tug on the string. _'Staying in this room until tomorrow morning seems about good to me right now...'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a smirk.

"Are you kidding?" Kagura asked disengaging herself from his embrace. "I've been waiting to see that sea from up close ever since we got here. Not to mention that Kanna's waiting for us. Now come on let's go!" She exclaimed happily before picking up her towel and hurrying out of the bedroom.

The dog demon pouted slightly, but changed into his swimming trunks before following his girlfriend out of the room. _`How is it that this damned witch manages to make me do anything she wants?...'_

* * *

"It's scary." Kanna frowned looking at the waves splashing at her feet with a frown. She then took a frightened step back, resting her tiny feet on the wet sand, not willing to have the water touch her pale skin.

"It's just water baby. There's no need to be frightened Kanna-chan." Kagura said a reassuring smile on her lips as she took a step towards the moving waves, hoping her daughter would follow her, which Kanna did not. In fact she even took another step backwards for good measure. Trying to reassure Kanna and make her change her mind, Kagura took one more small step, her feet suddenly meeting and touching the coming surf.

"No!" The toddler gasped clinging to her mother's leg, trying to make Kagura take a few steps back, and effectively preventing the wind sorceress from touching the sea water. Seeing her daughter's reaction, she let out a heavy sigh before giving in and stepping away from the salty water licking at her toes.

"It's okay if you don't want to go in; it's really fine." Kagura crouched in front of her daughter and smoothed back her pale blond locks.

Sesshoumaru looked from afar at his two girls; Kanna was wearing a white bathing suit with big orange floaters strapped securely around her arms, and Kagura was wearing what he deemed to be a torture device, the very tempting bikini she had bought especially for the occasion. After observing the situation in silence for some time, he decided to intervene. With a small sigh escaping his lips, and a frown on his brows, the dog demon approached the two female youkai.

"What is the matter?" He asked even though he already knew the answer to the question.

"Kanna is afraid of the waves. It's okay, we'll just go over and play on the sand." The wind sorceress said sending a longing glance to the water she badly wanted to get acquainted with.

"Kanna there is no reason to be afraid. Would you feel more reassured if you were holding on to both your mother and me?" Sesshoumaru asked the cowering little girl.

"Why are you pushing her? She doesn't have to do anything if she's afraid." Kagura snapped at him wondering why he was being so pushy all of a sudden.

"It is important for a child to learn how to swim. If she is afraid of the sea; she will never be able to get into a swimming pool." He explained his behavior to his girlfriend.

"Hum I never thought about that..." Kagura trailed off. _'Sesshoumaru is right; she should learn how to swim. If something ever happened to her...'_ The idea scared and hurt the wind sorceress so much that she could not even complete it.

"I won't be afraid if I'm with mommy and Sesshoumaru." Kanna cut through her mother's fearful thoughts. The toddler spoke softly turning her head to the side where she could see Shippou eagerly splashing sea water in his father's face, in front of the delighted Kagome who was desperately trying to hide her laughter. The sight caused Kanna to feel jealous of the young fox demon's relaxed behavior, and envious of the fun he was having with his family.

To Kagura's surprise, her daughter then wasted no time slipping her small hands into both the hands of Sesshoumaru and her mother.

"Good then let us go." The dog demon nodded his approval, giving a light squeeze to Kanna's hand. _'Now that is commanding behavior. Taking your fears head on.'_ The dog demon thought proudly.

"That's very good Kanna-chan. I'm very proud of you." Kagura smiled brightly as she, Sesshoumaru and Kanna walked hand in hand towards the coming waves. Her words of encouragement made both Sesshoumaru and Kanna smile back at her.

* * *

"Maybe you were right; the weather is still a little cold at this time of the year. I wouldn't want Kanna and Shippou to get sick..." Kagura addressed her boyfriend. She, Sesshoumaru, Kanna and Shippou were busy playing in the sand, with Kirara observing them curiously, while the others were having a mock fight in the water. Even though the wind sorceress had cloaked the two toddlers in warm fluffy towels, she still feared for their healths.

"They are both youkai and therefore will be just fine." The dog demon reassured her, his golden gaze resting on the two children who were busy trying give a castle shape to their mound of sand.

"Fine. But we're only staying a few minutes more. They've played in the water for a very long time, and after all the little ones need their naps, and we grown up need to take care of the chores if we want to eat dinner in time." The wind sorceress said picking up a stick of wood not far from her to draw some patterns on the sand.

"Witch, remember we are here to relax." The dog demon interrupted her. "You have no need to worry about chores for the week we will be spending here. The house keeper Jaken has hired will come every day, so we don't need to worry about cleaning and laundry. And when it comes to cooking, well we first need to go grocery shopping. Besides there are six of us here, so all the responsibilities do not fall on you."

"Fine okay. I get it." The wind sorceress smiled softly. "All I'll do it relax and have fun during our little vacation."

"Uncle Sesshoumaru can you get more wet sand for us?" Shippou asked with glowing emerald eyes and a toothy grin. When Inuyasha had first adopted him, the kitsune youkai was quite intimidated by his uncle, if not downright terrified of him. To Shippou's surprise since Kagura and Kanna had entered Sesshoumaru's life, his uncle had become warmer and nicer.

"I will be right back." The silver haired demon said as he got to his feet, his nephew's green bucket in hand.

At his words the wind sorceress looked up from her drawing, only to be once again stunned in silence by Sesshoumaru's flawless appearance.

_'There's just something to be said about water glistening down his bare chest.'_ She thought with flushed cheeks, appreciatively remembering how when they were initiating Kanna to the joys of playing with the ocean's waves, Kagura had had a hard time keeping her eyes, and hands, off her boyfriend. _'Get back to earth Kagura. I'll have all night long to play with his smooth skin...'_ She smirked to herself.

_'They behave like children!'_ The dog demon thought with a sigh, his eyes straying to his younger half brother and Kagome, who were both busy trying to prevent Sango from drowning Miroku. _'The fool probably did something perverted again...'_ Sesshoumaru sighed in dismay.

Once the dog demon was done scooping sand in the bucket, he walked back to the children's growing construction. Only a few feet away from them, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, and raised an eyebrow in surprise before speaking. "Kagura. What are you doing?"

"Hum? It's nothing much. I just really like the shape of your father's house that's all...The way both wood and rocks were used to mix a traditional house with a western style villa is pretty amazing" She said stopping the drawing she was making in the sand.

"Don't stop on my account." Sesshoumaru instructed her as he handed the full bucket to the busy children. With a smile Kagura continued drawing her representation of the house.

"Thank you!" Both Kanna and Shippou exclaimed with bright smiles before getting back to their sandy construction. The young fox demon then tried to coax Kirara into making some paw imprints at the edge of their construction to match the ones he had made with his feet earlier.

"I did not know you were interested in drawing." The dog demon said thoughtfully recalling how Kagura had been amazed by his talent all these weeks ago. _'She did not tell me she had a talent for drawing as well...'_ He frowned realizing there was much he did not know about the woman he had feelings for.

"Well I wouldn't call it _drawing_. I don't think I can draw people and things like you do. I just always loved houses and buildings. I just find fascinating seeing how they are built and stuff..." She responded with a shrug.

"In other words you are interested in architecture..." He suggested. _`This should have been obvious to me before. It is after all not the first time she remarks on the aesthetic quality of a building, or a room.'_ Sesshoumaru thought to himself, vexed he had not figured Kagura's apparent interest in architecture and decoration beforehand.

"Don't make it sound so serious..." She chuckled slightly before throwing away the stick of wood she had used to draw on the sand.

"I was not kidding..." He trailed off, deciding to drop the subject. From some reason he felt as if the conversation was making Kagura slightly uncomfortable.

_'My eyes are never wrong when it comes to art. Sure her drawing is rough and not the best quality, which is expected with the use of such a medium and her lack of training... On the other hand I can tell she has a lot of potential, and her proportions are excellent... How interesting... If I were to help her hone her talent, I am sure she could produce very good things.'_ He thought already thinking of a way to make use of his recent realization.

"What are you smiling like that for?" Kagura asked her boyfriend as she turned to her side to look at him.

"Nothing. You were right we should go back inside; the sun will soon go down and it is getting pretty chilly now." He said not willing to reveal that the reason for his happiness was that he had found out something about her he was sure no one else knew, maybe not even her.

"Yeah you're right. Did you hear Sesshoumaru? Come on guys let's head back inside the house." The wind sorceress addressed the two children, and the demonic cat assigned to watch over them.

"Since it's cold can we get hot chocolate?" Shippou asked with a smirk.

_'He really is Inuyasha's son, the both are such gluttons.'_ Sesshoumaru thought quite amused. He had to admit to himself he never could have imagined his irresponsible younger half brother doing such a good job at raising the young orphaned fox demon.

"Well if you don't fuss too much about getting a bath..." Kagura trailed off getting to her feet.

"Can we get some pocky too?..." The young boy added, green eyes opening wide to beg, as he too stood up.

"Hum why not? So do we have a deal?" The wind sorceress asked a small smirk on her cherry red lips.

"Deal!" The fox demon agreed quickly.

"She can really get any male wrapped around her finger." A quite impressed Sesshoumaru muttered under his breath as he looked at Kagura heading towards the house, balancing both Kanna and Shippou on her hips. After all Shippou had earned a reputation for finding creative ways to escape having to take a bath.

* * *

After taking a long relaxing shower in the luxurious white marble bathroom of the master bedroom, Kagura quickly got dressed. Just as she finished slipping into a T-shirt, she heard a knock on the door.

"You can come in Sessh, I'm done getting dressed." She invited in the person on the other side of the door while tying her hair up in a bun.

"I'm surprised to know that our dear boss actually knocks on doors." A mocking masculine voice said as its owner stepped inside the master bedroom.

"Miroku? If you're here to steal my underwear or something fishy like that, know that any pain Sango can inflict on you, I can give tenfold." She warned him with a sadistic grin.

"I do know that you can pack a serious punch..." Miroku said nervously massaging his jaw as he remembered Kagura's reaction when he had hired her as an escort so long ago.

"Besides why does everybody always thinks the worst of me? This is all Inuyasha's fault, spreading all these perverted rumors about me... In any case I'm not here for that. I just have been looking forward to the two of us having a private, very private chat." The human walked towards her with shiny purple eyes.

"What do you want to talk about?" Kagura asked feeling suddenly very uneasy.

"All the lies you've been telling Sesshoumaru about who you used to be." Miroku said with a smile.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Hum what will happen next time? We will see the rest of the long awaited confrontation between Kagura and Miroku in the chapter **Surprises**.

Also I posted a little slice of life/family/comedy story, feel free to check it out. It's called **How Mommy met Daddy** and here's the summary:

_Summary:_ **AU** The start of an epic love story isn't always what it seems. Sesshoumaru/Kagura

See you all next week.


	31. Surprises

_**Chapter 31: Surprises**_

A/N: Ah my fingers couldn't stop writing, so this is a longer chapter, but you're happy, right? Lol.

Thanks so much for the reviews:

**Killersupergirl** (Trouble? What trouble? Lol)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Foxfire7**

**Soojinyeh**

**Kiari13**

**Little25victor**

**Mlkoolc86**

**LuciusM101**

**Klv** (The truth will come out, but _soon_…? I guess it depends on your definition of the word lol.)

**Smoka420** (As asked, here's the brand new chapter)

_On _

**Zetsuii** (I hope the wait was not too long; here's your awaited conversation)

**Vikay09** (Lol he really doesn't seem like the type to enjoy the beach, but he'd do anything to please Kagura and Kanna. Yep Sesshy is that awesome.)

**Sovereignty** (Lol! I hope you're all better now, that none of the two little boys appeared and that writing your assignment went great)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_After taking a long relaxing shower in the luxurious white marble bathroom of the maser bedroom, Kagura quickly got dressed. Just as she finished slipping into a T-shirt, she heard a knock on the door._

"_You can come in Sessh, I'm done getting dressed." She invited in the person on the other side of the door while tying her hair up in a bun._

"_I'm surprised to know that our dear boss actually knocks on doors." A mocking masculine voice said as its owner stepped inside the master bedroom._

"_Miroku? If you're here to steal my underwear or something fishy like that, know that any pain Sango can inflict on you, I can give tenfold." She warned him with a sadistic grin._

"_I do know that you can pack a serious punch..." Miroku said nervously massaging his jaw as he remembered Kagura's reaction when he had hired her as an escort so long ago._

"_Besides why does everybody always thinks the worst of me? This is all Inuyasha's fault, spreading all these perverted rumors about me... In any case I'm not here for that. I just have been looking forward to the two of us having a private, very private chat." The human walked towards her with shiny purple eyes._

"_What do you want to talk about?" Kagura asked feeling suddenly very uneasy._

"_All the lies you've been telling Sesshoumaru about who you used to be." Miroku said with a smile._ His words made Kagura's heart rate suddenly increase, and her eyes pop open wide.

"Don't be afraid I only want to talk, that's all." He said with an uncomfortable chuckle. The young human could easily tell how Kagura was shocked and scared of what he might do.

"What exactly do you want?" She questioned in a shaky voice. _'As I feared all that's been happening lately was too good to be true. Something bad is bound to happen. I've been having such a good time that I forgot completely that Miroku had been a customer of Naraku... Though I do wonder why he hasn't told Sesshoumaru anything yet...'_

"I won't hurt you. It may not seem so, but I really care for Sesshoumaru as a friend. In fact, I've been a friend of the Takahashi family for a long time, and both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are close to me. I therefore wouldn't want the big boss to get hurt either... " Miroku tried to explain the reason for his sudden intervention.

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about." Kagura said genuinely confused about what Miroku wanted from her.

"Aw come on don't make this harder than is has to be for the two of us." The young human sighed.

"If you've got something to say, say it already!" She said not able to withstand the suspense.

"Fine. Based on what he told Inuyasha and me, I can easily tell you didn't speak to Sesshoumaru about what Naraku used to make you do… well beyond being a simple `hired date'... you know what I'm referring to, right?" He said uncomfortably shifting his weight from one foot to another.

Even though she could tell this was going to be the topic of their discussion, Kagura still felt a shock at hearing Miroku's words. Noticing the decisive light in his deep blue eyes, she settled on simply stopping to feign innocence. She then took a deep breath and decided not to try to elude the problem.

"It's true I haven't told Sesshoumaru, are you going to?" The suddenly pale wind sorceress asked trying and failing to sound unaffected or unafraid.

"Well to be honest I've thought about it for a long time, and I realized that it is not my place to tell. If Sesshoumaru was to know about your past, _you_ should be the one to tell him." After hearing the young human's words, Kagura let out a relieved sigh. She instantly tensed up again when she noticed that he was not done speaking.

"In truth my reason for coming here was that I merely wanted to let you know you could be at peace. It is easy to see that the two of you really care for each other, so I do not plan to interfere in any way. Had your feelings for Sesshoumaru not been genuine, then that would have been an entirely different story..." Miroku said trying to make Kagura feel better.

"You won't tell Sesshoumaru _anything_?..." She asked surprised, aiming to make sure he would not reveal her deepest darkest secret.

"I promise. I'm all for love, so why would I try to break up an authentic loving couple?" Miroku said with a smile raising his hand in defense.

"Loving? What makes you say that? How can you even tell what we feel for each other?" She asked him. Even though she knew how strongly she felt for Sesshoumaru, the dog demon's cold facade still made it hard for her to know the depth of his feelings for her.

_'Considering all he's done for me, I can tell he cares about me, but_ love_? I seriously doubt it.'_ Kagura thought to herself heaving a heavy sigh.

"Simple. It is all in the way you look at each other." Miroku said offering her a bright comforting smile, hoping Kagura would reciprocate the gesture, which she did not.

"Well then. If I timed myself well, and I know I did, right now Sango should be getting out of her bath, and if I'm fast enough I can catch a peek before she beats me senseless." With a toothy grin the young human winked then aimed for the door.

"Miroku wait!" Kagura called after him. "Did you really only come here to tell me that?" She asked him, still surprised by how the conversation had turned in her favor.

"Wow! Calm down here. I only came here to talk, and despite how sexy I am, I'm sure that if you think about it, you'll realize you don't want to do that. Besides I'd never cheat on Sango; especially with Sesshoumaru's girlfriend." Miroku stated rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"What? I am _not_ interested in you like that; don't flatter yourself. I just have a question for you. Do you...Do you think I should tell Sessh... about what I used to do? I tried to tell him before, but I couldn't say anything." She asked the question that had been weighing on her mind for so long. Considering how close she had recently gotten to Sesshoumaru, the guilt of staying silent was taking its toll on her.

"It is indeed not an easy decision to make. On the one hand you can decide to stay silent considering that the events took place in the past, and that you now want to move forward, but living with the fear of Sesshoumaru finding out is hard." He pondered aloud.

"Are you debating, or are you going to give me some advice?" The wind sorceress asked feeling irritated.

"The only piece of advice I can truly offer you is that the best relationships are based on a mutual feeling of trust." Miroku instructed with a nod.

Kagura let out a snort at his words before lowering her gaze to her feet. "Trust is not something I am quite used to... I don't know if I'll ever be able to tell him... I mean what if he..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Miroku had to her surprise placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He then hooked a finger under her delicate chin, and raised her face to stare down into her crimson eyes.

With a reassuring squeeze to her shoulder he said on a suddenly serious tone "Have faith in him. Sesshoumaru may seem insensitive, but if you try him, you might realize to your surprise how truly understanding and open minded he can actually be. Was it not said in Kagome's book? When dog demons care for someone, they would do anything for said person. Sesshoumaru is no different. You may doubt my words, but I know my friend and can assure you he cares deeply for _both_ Kanna and you."

Just as Kagura was about to offer an answer and thank Miroku for his concern and words of wisdom and comfort, the door to the master bedroom was opened.

"Kagura are you done with your shower... What is going on here?" Sesshoumaru asked a thin eyebrow raised in surprise as he noticed his perverted friend practically encircling his girlfriend in a tight embrace.

"Nothing; I was just leaving." Miroku said relinquishing the hold he had on Kagura's shoulder and chin, with a nervous chuckle before quickly exiting the bedroom. He knew how possessive Sesshoumaru was and that friend or not, the dog demon would not hesitate to tear him to pieces if he felt Miroku was flirting with or inappropriately touching his girlfriend.

"It's not what you think. Nothing was going on." Kagura automatically defended herself as she looked at Miroku's retreating back.

"I know. If the perverted idiot ever laid an unwelcomed hand on you, you would kill him. Besides as much as he likes pretending to be a Casanova, Miroku is deeply in love with Sango. Lastly I have enough trust in our relationship to know you wouldn't cheat on me, especially with him of all people." The dog demon said with a light smile as he bent to press a kiss to Kagura's lips.

As she felt him pulling away, Kagura tried to deepen their kiss. She could simply not be satisfied with only a small peck. More than eager to oblige, the dog demon responded to her passionate kiss. She buried her hands into his silver mane, and welcomed his kiss with an opened mouth.

"I am heading out with the others to go get groceries. Since Inuyasha volunteered to stay behind and look after Shippou and Kanna, you are welcome to accompany us. The children are taking their naps, so it shouldn't be much trouble for him" He let her know after they broke apart. In truth, the dog demon was still surprised by his brother's decision.

_`It is the first time I have seen Inuyasha turn down an offer to go buy groceries. He always jumps at the opportunity of buying some of his offending and tasteless ramen. He is so picky on specific brands, and will probably give us hell for not buying enough anyway. It is also quite surprising that he agreed to leave his precious Kagome out of his sight…' The_ dog demon reflected on his younger half brother's strange behavior.

"You know what? I could use a nap, so I think I'll stay behind as well." Kagura said with a forced smile. In truth her small talk with Miroku had given her much to think about, and she could use some time on her own.

"As you wish. We have supplies to pick up as well, so we should not be back before at least three hours or so." He added, not willing for her to worry if they came home late from their errands.

"That's good; you'll be just in time for dinner then." The wind sorceress said with a nod.

"I will see you later." He answered, and after giving her a last kiss he exited the bedroom.

The wind sorceress let out a heavy sigh when Sesshoumaru finally disappeared behind the beautiful wooden carved door of the master bedroom.

_'What to do? Even if Miroku thinks otherwise I don't think Sesshoumaru would understand. He might have understood and forgiven me if I hadn't lied and had told him the truth. I had so many opportunities to do so, but I'm so unsure of his reaction. It's not really the kind of thing a man wants to find out about the woman he's sleeping with…'_ Kagura thought ashamed of herself.

_'I just don't want to lose him; I've become so attached to Sesshoumaru. Kanna also loves him so much... He's so good to me and for me that I don't want to leave his side.'_ The wind sorceress then thought realizing how deeply she felt for her boyfriend, and how much he had become a vital part of her and her daughter's lives.

_`No. I shouldn't weaken, and will keep my mouth shut. Since Miroku won't say anything either, there's no way for Sesshoumaru to know the truth. Besides he also kept stuff from me, and unlike him, I'm doing this to_ protect _our relationship. And as they say what Sessh doesn't know won't kill him...'_ Satisfied to have come to a decision, the wind sorceress decided to follow through on her word and settled on the bed to take a small nap. She closed her eyes and did her best to ignore the feeling of guilt gnawing at her conscience.

* * *

Kagura had barely closed her eyes for some rest that she was suddenly awakened by the acrid scent of smoke. Panicked she jumped out of the bed and headed to the bedroom down the hall where the children had been placed.

With a sigh of relief she quickly realized Shippou and Kanna were soundly sleeping on the bed, with Kirara watching over them.

"Okay Kirara, keep an eye on them while I go see what's going on." The wind sorceress instructed. She smiled faintly when the nekomata purred in assent. The wind witch knew that the children were in good "hands". If things took a turn for the worse, the hundred years old cat demon would be sure to transform in her larger form and evacuate the two toddlers to a safer place.

It then occurred to Kagura that along with smoke, a terrible stench was coming from downstairs. She rushed down and was not surprised to see a cloud of smoke coming out of the kitchen.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Kagura asked as she stepped into the kitchen before raising her hand to summon a welcomed gust of wind, which carried outside the strong scents concentrated in the kitchen.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you left with the others!" None other than Inuyasha growled as he took a pan out of the smoke filled oven.

"Instead of snarling at me, you should be glad I was here to get rid of that smell. What are _you_ doing?" She asked curiously as she walked towards the hanyou.

"Just cooking something." He answered with a frown realizing something seemed wrong with his dish. _'Damn it it's my third trial, and it looks bad again!'_

"I'm guessing it's for Kagome. Are you planning a romantic secret dinner on the beach? That's quite cute if you ask me." The wind sorceress teased him with a smile as she rose on the tip of her toes, trying to see over Inuyasha's shoulder to determine what he was actually doing.

_'How in the hell did she find out what I was doing?'_ Inuyasha wondered in shock. _`That woman really is a witch!'_ Seeing no need to hide from Kagura anymore, the inu hanyou slid the pan over to the kitchen counter in front of her.

"Hum seems to me like you need a little help here. I'm sure you'll be relieved to know I'm a great cook, so what are you trying to make?" She asked eyeing suspiciously the dish placed in front of her.

"Can't you tell just by looking?" At Inuyasha's question, Kagura simply shrugged her shoulders. "Keh! It's a gratin dauphinois!" He exclaimed slightly exasperated.

"By "gratin dauphinois", I am assuming you mean the French dish made of potatoes? It seems like you didn't quite follow the recipe... Well you're in luck since I do know how to make that dish." Kagura said with a mocking grin on her cherry red lips.

_'At least the cooking lessons that damned Hiroshi forced me to take are going to be of use. I still wonder why if he had such a fetish for women cooking for him he simply did not just go and bother his wife... Hmpf had it not been for him being one of Naraku's clients I certainly would have put some arsenic in the dishes I made for that asshole. Ugh I've got to stop thinking about these times. There are in the past! I'm so far from them now. I've got to focus on the present, which is helping that dumb Inuyasha whip up something decent for Kagome.'_ Slightly shaking her head to rid her mind of her disturbing memories, the wind sorceress turned her head to look at her boyfriend's brother.

"Do you mind if I have a taste to see what you're doing wrong before we start from scratch again?" Kagura asked with a smile as she started looking around for a fork.

"Feh might as well since you've come so far..." The hanyou said handing to her a nearby fork.

The wind sorceress took the fork out of his hand, and quickly took a bite of the dish. As soon as the food touched her tongue, she felt like spitting it out. The hopeful glint in Inuyasha's eyes stopped her from doing so. Nodding her head several times, she even forced herself to take a couple more forkfuls to the hanyou's clear proud approval. Once she was sure she would not be able to take another bite without throwing up, Kagura put down the fork.

"So how was it?" The half demon asked eager for her opinion.

"Well not bad, but it could be better..." She trailed off with an uncomfortable smile. _'Good god I've never tasted anything so awful in my life. How in the hell can a dish be both burnt and raw at the same time? Not to mention the taste! What the hell did he put in that? Dead rats and potatoes cooked in sewer water?'_ She thought feeling her stomach clench and churn in clear protest of what she had just made it go through.

"Okay so what do we do? I mean I used the rest of the eggs and cream I had brought along..." He said disappointed. _'Damn I'm out of groceries, and to think that I went through the trouble of hiding them in my backpack so my nosy wench wouldn't find them... And because of that my favorite red T-shirt was drenched in egg yolk... All this trouble for nothing!'_ The hanyou thought to himself, clenching his fist angrily.

Inuyasha really wanted to please his girlfriend by doing something a little romantic for a change. He had decided to make the gratin dauphinois because he remembered Kagome had very much enjoyed the dish when they had gone out to a French restaurant a few weeks back.

"I'm sure that even if it's not some fancy French dish, as long as you're the one who did the cooking, Kagome would love any dish." Kagura told Inuyasha gently when he noticed that the hanyou was making a very sour face.

"Even if it was ramen?" He scoffed disappointed that his surprise was not the success he had expected.

"Of course. Add up a little fancy desert, and she'll be more than pleased. What woman wouldn't love for her boyfriend to cook for her a little romantic dinner?" Kagura explained glad to have managed to prevent Kagome from suffering of food poisoning for sure. _`That girl is so dunbly nice that she would have forced herself to eat the whole dish despite its awful taste.'_ She thought shaking her head in dismay.

Inuyasha remained thoughtful for a few seconds, but then he realized that Kagura was probably right, since Kagome was after all quite a simple and modest girl, anything would please her.

"Fine. I guess you're right. Just so you know this... conversation between us and thing never happened. Now I'm no good at doing deserts and stuff so..." The inu hanyou said looking away from Kagura while scratching the back of his head.

"No worries let me see what we have that's still edible in the pantry. Seems like the house hasn't seen visitors for quite some time, so I'm sure there won't be that many usable ingredients .Oh and just so you know, I'm not doing this for you, but for Kagome, who I've come to see as a pretty good friend. I think that despite her boyfriend being one gruff hanyou, she does deserve a little romance. Also there are no worries to have about me talking to anyone about this. After all I wouldn't want people to know I actually am a nice girl... Now on to the cooking!" Kagura smirked as she walked over to the pantry to check its content.

* * *

Miles away a dark haired man was getting home after another 'productive' afternoon spent at his favorite upscale bar. The place had everything he needed: potential clients for his ever growing business, his favorite alcohol and even possible _employees_.

Just as he was about to enter his house, the demon noticed a parcel on his doorstep. He looked at the address and noticed it was meant for a certain person he himself had been looking for in the past few months.

_'Hum too bad for you she is not available right now...'_ The man thought as he opened the parcel. It had not even crossed his mind not to open mail not intended for him.

_**'Take part in the Takahashi agency's survey on the "B-bags" brand new product, and you could earn a $10 check!'**_ He read from the letter. _'Why not? It's not like I have something better to do...'_ He thought to himself as he headed inside his shabby house. As broken and battered as his house may seem from the outside, the man had always known how to treat himself. Other than the very expensive alcohol bottles placed in his kitchen cabinets, and the glinting jewels hidden safely into a safe in his bedroom, the dark demon had also recently offered himself a home theater system that he had placed in his living room.

_'I did deserve a nice treat to forget about that traitorous bitch.'_ He thought his blood colored eyes thinning as his anger over the recent betrayal resurfaced. Deciding to forget about the person over who he had no more influence, he turned on his new TV.

The scowl on his lips when he placed in the player the DVD included in the parcel he had just opened quickly disappeared, and was replaced by a bright smile; the reason for it being on the screen. In fact it now showed a smartly dressed dark haired beauty with feathers in her hair, holding a cute pale white clad toddler.

"Ku ku ku what a delightful surprise. Looks like I _finally_ found you..." The man chuckled, hate and anger flashing in his deep red eyes.

**To be continued...**

A/N: And the story is going to get twisted. Things are going to get a little unpleasant in the next chapter, but for who? We'll see in **Bed rest**.


	32. Bed rest

_**Chapter 32: Bed rest**_

A/N: Ah sorry to all, but this is another longer chapter: I've had computer troubles, and a lack of inspiration this week (not to mention school stuff), but I managed to write thanks to all the readers' amazing support.

Also I'd like to give kudos to my dear friend Jinxy-sama whose amazing story "It's Late" has inspired me a lot, and taught a few things on how to write great angst scenes.

Not much more to say, so I won't bore you with a long note.

Last, but not least thanks so much for the reviews:

**Killersupergirl** (Yep the DVD the man received was one of the test shoot. He received it because it was mailed to Kagura, whose name was on the mailing list of the young mother center. I hope explaining it like that made sense lol.)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Foxfire7**

**Kiari 13**

**Little25victor**

**Jinxy-sama (x14... could be a new record :P)**

**Smoka420** (Thanks for the encouraging words. Here's your update)

_On _

**Zetsuii** (Don't threaten me when you feel that the story is too angsty; you asked for .)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"Keh! Whatever happens I bet I'm going to beat your sorry ass today!" Inuyasha smirked as he looked at his brother. The older dog demon did not even bother answering the taunt. He simply kept on sipping his coffee slowly. As composed as Sesshoumaru wanted to appear; however, the competitive glint in his eyes did not go unnoticed by his younger half brother.

_'The day this idiot will manage to beat this Sesshoumaru has yet to come.'_ The older sibling thought feeling the corners of his mouth lift slightly in amusement.

"Watch your language in front of innocent ears!" Kagome screamed angrily at her boyfriend.

"Feh! Who has innocent ears in here?" The hanyou retorted crossing his arms over his chest in a stubborn gesture.

"I think she means Kanna and me." Shippou volunteered for an answer as he pushed away his now empty bowl of cereal.

"You? Innocent? As if!" Inuyasha scoffed at his son.

"I would be if you weren't so mean to me." Shippou complained with a pout.

"Inuyasha! I told you a thousand times, stop being so rude to the poor Shippou, otherwise your own son will hate you." Kagome scolded her boyfriend as she took his son in her arms. With a smirk Shippou stuck his tongue out at his father before burrowing his head against the neck of the woman he considered his mother.

"Why you little insufferable runt!" Inuyasha said glaring at his son. Just as he was about to grab Shippou, Kagome sent him a murderous glare.

"Touch him, and I promise you will regret it Inuyasha." His girlfriend warned him, her brown eyes darkening, showing her growing anger.

"Feh! Whatever..." Inuyasha grumbled as he turned around to reach over for the fridge and retrieve a bottle of water, which he quickly drank, pretending not to care about his son and girlfriend.

Glad to have scared off Inuyasha, Kagome turned her back to him, and without letting go of the young fox demon in her arms, reached over for her mug of tea.

"Feh! You won round one kid, but the war's far from being over." Inuyasha mouthed at his son, making sure that only people with demonic hearing would clearly hear what he said. He had of course waited until Kagome would be sure not to see or hear his threat.

"Oh Kagome you didn't give me my good morning kiss yet." The young fox demon remarked, with teary emerald orbs. Shippou tried very hard not to smile at the outraged expression etched on his father's face.

Unaware of the standoff between the two Takahashis, Kagome happily complied with the request, and pressed a small kiss to Shippou's forehead. Glad to have gotten another `point,' Shippou flashed a toothy grin at his father, who responded by an appalled scowl.

"Hum little brother it seems your son has more sense than you do." Sesshoumaru teased the hanyou. Inuyasha merely responded by letting out a small annoyed groan.

"I'm always impressed when I hear Shippou act and speak. To think that he's only three years old! I mean I remember when my brother was this young, and he surely could not communicate this well. Had it not been for his short size, he could easily be mistaken for a child twice his age, if not more." Sango said as she looked at the young fox demon with awe.

"Well Kanna is the same, so I guess that's just demon toddlers. If you want to find out how fast human children can develop why don't we try making one?" Miroku asked his girlfriend as his hand strayed to her behind.

"I can't believe I agreed to share a bedroom with you!" The head of security growled as she gave her boyfriend a resonating slap.

"Feh! I feel like something's missing here. Oh I get it there haven't been any sarcastic remarks. Hey Fluffy where's your wench. Haven't seen her since yesterday night." Inuyasha asked thoughtfully as he looked around the room.

"Kagura is still in bed. Oh and little brother I would watch it and not call her a _wench_ if I were you, unless you wish to lose your neck" Sesshoumaru could not help but tease Inuyasha.

"Well maybe you should go wake her up before you guys leave for your little fishing trip." Kagome suggested. She really did not want to be the one to have to wake up the wind sorceress. _`Somehow she doesn't seem to be the type of person who likes being wakened up in the morning…'_

"Please dear Kagome do not call our _manly_ outing a _little fishing trip_... We've been waiting for three days until the weather becomes perfect for our manly ritual activity. This tradition goes way back, so please do not belittle it." Miroku said with a suffering sigh as he took out from the freezer some ice to apply on his bruised cheek.

"It is an important contest. After all Inuyasha and I are going to do our best to beat Sesshoumaru and bring back the biggest fish for a change. The only time this occurred was when we teamed up against him back during our college years. Of course our two friends' late father was a real pro when it came to fishing, so I guess our big boss's success must have much to do with him being a full dog demon... In any case today will be the day such a feat will be repeated, and we will beat Sesshoumaru." Miroku said a determined light dancing in his blue eyes.

"You can try..." The eldest Takahashi brother trailed off with a smirk as, to her request, he refilled Kanna's bowl of cereal, which the little girl devoured quickly and happily. "We all know you will fail. After all you have been trying for years now. Neither of you have the ability and the patience for such an activity, especially you Inuyasha."

"I wouldn't bet on it! I've been working on my skills." The hanyou retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh I am sure Kagome could testify on that." Miroku said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Just as Inuyasha was going to respond, Sango delivered another slap to her boyfriend.

"Enough of your perverted words, there are babies present!" His young dark brown haired girlfriend said angrily.

"I'm not a baby anymore! After all _dad_ said I could go fishing with the _men_ too." Shippou corrected as he squirmed for Kagome to put him down. As soon as he was freed, the young demon, walked past Kirara eating her breakfast while settled on the cool tiled kitchen floor, to hurry to his father's side and looking up at Inuyasha asked "You said it was a tradition for _Takahashi_ men, so I can come too, right _daddy_?" The little kitsune tried using his large green eyes to get his father to comply with his request. At the moment any contest between his father and him over Kagome's attention was far from his mind.

Even though he tried not to show it, the hanyou was really touched by the way Shippou had just referred to him. _`Even though I adopted him a year and a half ago, it's the first time he called me_ daddy_.'_

"Of course son. Together we'll show to your old uncle Fluffy how it's done..." Inuyasha said gently resting his clawed hand on his grinning son's fiery red head.

"If that's the case then you two better go get changed" Kagome said with a smile. She could easily see through the emotion Inuyasha was trying to hide from showing on his face, and it warmed her heart.

"I agree with Kagome. The same goes for you Miroku. The four of us leave immediately." Without another word, Sesshoumaru took a hold of Kanna and the two of them left the kitchen.

* * *

"Kagura?" Sesshoumaru asked as he entered their bedroom. He put Kanna down on their empty bed and went into the bathroom. With eyes opened wide in shock, he quickly walked over to the toilet where Kagura was hunched over.

"Are you not feeling well?" He asked pulling her long and messy ponytail out of her face and holding it over her head.

"If I was well, I wouldn't be puking my guts out, right?" She asked before quickly burying her head back in the toilet to empty her stomach some more. Without answering her angry words, Sesshoumaru gently rubbed her back, as she retched. After flushing Kagura took to her feet, and washed her mouth and face thoroughly.

"I'm sorry for being bitchy. Since I woke up, I've just been feeling horrible, but taking it out on you is still unnecessary." The wind sorceress said with a sigh taking with a grateful nod the towel her boyfriend handed her.

"You are of course forgiven; it was nothing. Now maybe you should get back to bed." He instructed as he gently pushed her towards the adjacent bedroom.

To both of their surprise, none other than Inuyasha was comfortably lying on their bed, playing with Kanna and her white teddy bear, Kuma-chan.

"Feh! Kagura were you the one throwing up like that? Could it be morning sickness? Wow you guys sure work fast. To be honest, I'm disappointed; _Fluffy_ I'd thought you'd tell me if a little Takahashi was in the works..." The hanyou remarked as jumped off the bed and took to his feet.

_'Could Kagura be_ pregnant_?'_ Sesshoumaru wondered looking at the pale woman by his side. He was shocked to realize that instead of surprise or terror, the prospect of her having his child made him... happy.

_'Me pregnant? I'd never let such a thing happen. Sesshoumaru and I are not even close to having a deep enough relationship for that to happen. Not to mention that I already have a hard enough time caring for Kanna, so having to provide for another baby would be impossible... Had it not been for Sesshoumaru I'd be penniless and without a roof. Even when Kanna was sick I was powerless, it was Sesshoumaru who helped me...'_ As she thought about it, the wind sorceress took a few seconds to recollect her thoughts.

`_I've really come to depend on Sesshoumaru. Maybe I depend on him a little too much.'_ Kagura thought to herself, a deep frown appearing on her brows. _'When did I come to rely on him so much? To think that I had promised Kanna we'd make it on our own... we're pretty far from that. I'm pretty far from my goal of being completely independent.'_ One look at her daughter's inquisitive dark eyes, and Kagura snapped out of her self-reflective thoughts.

"Kanna-chan can you please cover your ears for mommy, just for a little while." The wind sorceress said with a small forced smile. As soon as her daughter complied, without missing a beat, the wind sorceress took off one of her slippers and threw it at Inuyasha's head.

"You stupid bitch! What the hell was that for?" The hanyou roared in anger, brandishing the fluffy shoewear angrily before throwing it on the carpet. Before Sesshoumaru could step in and remind Inuyasha how to treat a lady properly, Kagura intervened.

"Inuyasha don't you even joke about something as serious as a pregnancy." Kagura hissed angrily, her crimson eyed burning even brighter. "I love my daughter more than anything, but having her was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, and one of the hardest decisions for me. Let me just tell you that I won't be having any more kids for a very good long while."

After taking a few short calming breaths she continued. "Even if it's none of your business to know that, ever since Kanna's birth, I've paid _great_ attention when it comes to birth control, so there's _no way in hell_ I could be pregnant. I'm sure I just got the stomach flu or something." The wind sorceress explained to herself more than to Inuyasha.

She needed to reassure herself that there was _absolutely_ _no chance_ she had forgotten to take her birth control pills. The idea that her contraception had not worked with Sesshoumaru was bad enough in itself, but it was rather the prospect that it could have failed her earlier that downright _terrorized_ her.

_'If there's one thing I've been careful about it's definitely_ not _to get pregnant again. I can't imagine what would have happened to me then. Wouldn't that have made Naraku lose his mind for good?'_ She told herself with a shiver of fright. _`Not to mention that I don't know what I would have done had I had a child in those conditions…'_

"Inuyasha maybe it would be for the best if you left. Let the others know I will not go on the fishing outing." The dog demon said pushing Kagura towards the bed. The wind sorceress lied next to her daughter, and lowered the toddler's hands from her ears before giving her a kiss on the forehead and a firm hug.

"Okay. Since Kagome and Sango are coming with us too, do you want us to bring Kanna along?..." Inuyasha asked uncomfortably.

"No I want to say with mommy and Sesshoumaru." The little girl said on a decisive tone. Her quick and sharp response made Inuyasha blink in surprise.

"Yeah I get it. See ya guys tonight." The hanyou said as he quickly turned around and left the master bedroom. The 'conversation' he had just had with his brother's girlfriend had completely freaked him out.

_`Damn that sure as hell was WAY too much information for me. I didn't ask if Sessh and her used birth control… Seems like she just can't take a joke; I really didn't mean anything by it… I hope Sessh and Kagura won't be all mad at me now. Then again Kagura's reaction was kind of strange… I've never really wondered about it, but maybe she had a hard time with her kid's dad or something. Damn. Way to put your foot in your mouth Inuyasha! That's why I rather talk with my wench, with her things are at least easier, well not all the time...'_ The half dog demon thought letting out a small groan.

"So what's happening over there? I think I heard some screaming" Kagome asked her boyfriend as he walked inside their bedroom. Without answering her Inuyasha simply encircled her in a firm hug.

"You know I love you, right?" The hanyou suddenly whispered in her ear, fanning his hot breath on her sensitive skin.

"Yes of course. You did show it to me yesterday during our picnic on the beach." She answered with a smile recalling how pleasurably surprised she had by his surprise. _`I never could have guessed Inuyasha could be so romantic…'_

"Oh damn that's it!" Inuyasha gasped suddenly breaking their embrace. _'It must be because she tasted my cooking yesterday that Kagura's sick. She's gotta have food poisoning'_ He realized feeling guilty. _'Damn it's a good thing I listened to the witch and stuck to ramen. I can't imagine how sick the dish I made would've made Kagome feel. Maybe using the leftover ingredients I found in the pantry and fridge wasn't such a good idea neither was deciding to bring over the main ingredients in my bag; I probably should have used the freshest stuff possible instead... Anyway Kagura should be okay; she IS youkai after all… Still before I leave I'm gonna make some of mom's tummy ache remedy for her.'_ Inuyasha's thought a wave of remorse suddenly washing over him.

"What is it?" The young human asked worriedly, looking at her boyfriend's sour face in surprise.

"Nothing for you to worry about wench. Get changed. I've got a small errand to run, but I'll be back as fast as I can." Without another word he ran out of the room.

"So much for being suddenly romantic you insensitive jerk!" Kagome mumbled under her breath.

* * *

"You know I must admit that I'm impressed. Despite a few slip ups here and there, you've been pretty well behaved the whole time we've been here." Sango said with an appreciative smile as she looked at her boyfriend. She put down Kirara on the ground of the foyer, where they were all waiting for everyone to leave for their fishing trip.

"Well it's true that even if we have been sharing the same bed for the past two nights, I did keep my fingers to myself. The reason is that I can only control myself when I am with someone I truly care about." The young human explained as he looped his arms around his brand new girlfriend. _'Well there's also the fact that for a cat, Kirara is a pretty good "guard dog." If only she wasn't youkai and didn't have claws, or actually slept more at night...'_ He thought recalling the scratches his hand had suffered throughout the night every time his forgotten limb got too close to the unsuspecting and slumbering Sango's flesh.

"So you truly care about me?..." Sango asked with a small blush.

"How can you doubt it?" Miroku retorted pressing a small kiss to her lips. Before he could deepen their kiss, Miroku's hand traveled downwards to land on Sango's behind.

"Oh you disgusting lecher. You'll never change!" She screamed as she stormed up the staircase and headed for the bedroom she and Miroku were supposed to share for the duration of the trip. _'I knew I should have sent him to sleep in the children's room...'_ She thought angrily.

"Oh my hand why did you have to betray me so?" Miroku lamented with a sigh before going up to run after his girlfriend and apologize profusely.

* * *

Sesshoumaru waited until all of his `friends' were out the door to walk towards the master bedroom. On his way there, he pondered on his earlier reaction to Inuyasha's remark to Kagura's apparent illness. Mainly when for a brief second he rejoiced that the wind sorceress might be pregnant.

_`My reaction was merely due to the idea that if the witch was indeed with my child, unlike Shinichi, I would do what is expected of any man, and do right by her. I do not even want children, so my reaction was not due to joy, but rather a sense of duty. I have never appreciated children, and_ _cannot_ _see myself raising some of my own.'_ He tried to convince himself, trying to make sense of his conflicting emotions. He did his best to ignore the persistent voice in his head that kept on pointing out his lies. Notably how attached he had become to Kanna despite his supposed aversion of children.

"It seems they are all gone." The dog demon sighed as he entered the bedroom Kagura and he shared.

Sesshoumaru then headed towards his lover's daughter. He handed to Kanna, who was happily settled on a blanket on the ground with her favorite mirror. In order to keep her entertained he also gave her a coloring book along with a box of colored pencils, which she took gratefully with a large smile.

Kagura was lying in bed, a hand clutching her stomach, but when she heard her boyfriend enter the room, she did manage to raise her head to look at him.

"Here drink this. Inuyasha made it for you with remnants of the healing herbs garden his mother had set up behind the house. He simply asked me to give this to you along with the words 'gratin dauphinois...' I am not sure I know what he meant, nor if I even want to know for that matter..." Sesshoumaru said handing over to Kagura a mug filled of a heavy brown mixture.

"Ugh it's nothing, don't worry about it." Kagura replied propping herself in bed to drink the concoction as fast as possible. As soon as it went down her throat, she wanted to spit it out. _'Gods I feel worse after drinking this.'_ Kagura thought with a frown.

"You should start to feel better soon. As much as I do not particularly care for Izayoi, her herbal remedies are famous for being very effective." Sesshoumaru reassured Kagura as he gently tucked her into bed.

"I'm sorry for spoiling your day. I know you were really looking forward to going fishing, and having fun with the others." The wind sorceress apologized with a sigh.

"Nonsense. I am sure you would do the same for me. I can always go fishing with these morons after you feel better. In any case I have some work to catch up on, therefore staying in today is for the best." Sesshoumaru said as he walked over to the desk to take his laptop along with a few books.

"Here before I forget. I took some books from father's library as you asked; I am sure you will enjoy them." The dog demon said, fighting off a small smile as he handed to Kagura several large books then settled on the bed next to her.

"What are these? They're way too big to be novels..." She chuckled before reading the title of the first large book. "'_Architecture from then until now'_ ? Sessh what is this?" She asked him with a frown, her eyes resting on the cover of the book at the top of the pile.

"Nothing. I merely believed you would enjoy those. If they are not to your taste, I will go take a novel out for you." He shrugged typing quickly on his laptop.

_'Fine since Mr. almighty thinks he knows my taste so well, I'll try those stupid books. Even if I'm sure they suck...'_ Kagura thought with a huff as she opened the first book on the pile.

* * *

The wind sorceress snapped open her eyes and as she sat up and wondered at one point she had fallen asleep. _'The last thing I remember was reading a very interesting chapter_ _on Gothic inspired architecture…'_

Another thing that surprised her was the sight that greeted her when she looked around her. Not only had she been comfortably placed under the covers, but the books she had been reading were nicely stacked on her night stand. A smile graced Kagura's lips when she turned to her side and saw that Kanna was sleeping soundly on the bed, gently sandwiched in between her mother and Sesshoumaru. After bending down to press a tender kiss to her daughter's forehead, the wind witch gently reached over to brush some of Sesshoumaru's hair from his forehead, revealing the blue crescent mark on his fair skin. The gentle caress caused him to crack open his golden eyes.

"Did I wake you?" Kagura softly whispered to him not stopping her gentle caresses. She once more marveled at the silky texture of his silver tresses.

"No. I had merely closed my eyes for a minute." Sesshoumaru said not moving since he greatly enjoyed her skin brushing against his hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Guess I'll be up by tomorrow. As disgusting as it tasted, it was some serious medicine your brother gave me there..." She trailed off with a chuckle. "Wow it's already three in the afternoon!" She then gasped when she noticed the time.

"The others are not back yet, so I already gave Kanna her lunch and put her down for her nap fifteen minutes ago. She refused to sleep, so I had to bribe her with a bedtime story tonight. She did however insist to stay and nap here, and since I was sure you would have no objections, I let her be." Sesshoumaru informed his girlfriend as he sat up in bed, careful not to wake up the slumbering toddler lying between them.

"Hum what a lucky girl I am. Not only are you good to me, but you also are good to my daughter. Aren't you the perfect boyfriend?" The wind sorceress asked with a sweet smile. Not willing for Kagura to see his reaction to her praising words, which had come in his cheeks turning slightly red, he turned his head away from her.

"Do you want to watch a movie? With subtitles of course, considering we only have to wake up Kanna in forty five minutes." The dog demon asked not commenting on Kagura's compliment even though it pleased him greatly.

"Throw in some buttery pop corn and I'm in." She suggested realizing she had a sudden craving for a greasy snack.

"No, you have to be careful with your stomach. I am after all not looking forward to once again holding your hair up for you, while you are bent over the toilet emptying your stomach." He remarked dryly as he stood up to put the movie in the DVD player. The dog demon was suddenly quite happy to have upgraded the electronic installation in his father's villa.

_'Ugh he's so self righteous.'_ Kagura thought with a pout even if she knew Sesshoumaru was only concerned for her. _'Damn_ _it,_ _once again he's probably right anyway...'_

"If you are hungry, I can go get you some soup." He suggested with a smirk, already anticipating a negative answer from Kagura.

"No thanks I'm good..." She snapped before adding on a soothed tone "I'll eat something else later on." She realized how she really was lucky to have such a kind man in her life, especially compared to her past life.

_`As great as he is I', still lying to him.'_

"Hey Sessh there's something I'd like to ask your opinion on." Kagura said after taking a deep relaxing breath.

"What is it?" The dog demon asked surprised by her question. He stood up and went over to the flat screen TV mounted on his wall.

"How would a man react if he found out the woman he's seeing is keeping something from him. Something he might see as important." The wind sorceress purposely stayed vague, afraid the dog demon would guess the reason behind her question.

_'I just want to reassure myself that I am right in keeping Sesshoumaru in the dark.'_ She thought to herself reflecting on her hidden secret.

"Hum I am guessing this has to do with Kagome coming to talk to you while I was helping Inuyasha with your medicine. Well since you asked, my opinion on the matter would depend on why she is keeping her secret." Sesshoumaru told her, unsuspecting of Kagura's true motive.

"Let's just say the woman is keeping silent to protect the man she cares for." The wind sorceress said feeling slightly bad for letting Sesshoumaru think she was talking of Kagome an Inuyasha.

"Then there is nothing she should be worried about. Sometimes sacrifices require to be made for the sake of the people you care about. Knowing Inuyasha, he will probably forgive Kagome when she deems it safe enough to tell him the truth." He answered as he pressed play on the DVD player.

"Yes I think you're right." She sighed, feeling less guilty over keeping her past a secret.

"I am glad to have put your mind to rest." Sesshoumaru said after he settled back in bed next to his girlfriend and her daughter. "Now I have a suggestion to make. I would like you to try something..." He trailed off testing the waters.

"Hum what is it? Are you having some kinky ideas?" She asked a smirk on her lips.

"No." He answered even though he knew she was teasing him. After all they would never engage in anything of a sexual nature with Kanna so close by. Not to mention that due to Kagura not feeling well, any sexual ideas had been pushed at the back of his mind.

"I quite appreciated the drawing of the villa you had made on the sand the other day, and thought you could try making it again. This time on paper." Sesshoumaru spoke.

"I don't know about that... I told you before that I'm not good at drawing." She tried eluding his suggestion.

"I am ready to bet that you never actually tried..." He ventured. The light blush on Kagura's face let him know he was right.

"What if I'm not good at it?" The wind sorceress asked with a sigh.

"Whether you are good at it or not does not matter." He informed her as he picked up from his side table the piece of paper and pencil he had prepared for the occasion, and extended both to her.

"Fine. If it pleases you, why not give it a try?" She smiled shyly as she took the art supplies from him with an uncomfortable smile.

* * *

The wind sorceress looked out the window and sighed happily as she noticed that the sky had already grown dark. Even though Sesshoumaru had only left a few minutes earlier to put Kanna to bed for the night, Kagura was already feeling their absence.

_'I'm sure Kanna asked him to read her a long bedtime story.'_ She thought with a smirk. _'Seems like none of us can have enough of that poor man. As if spending the entire day in bed with Sesshoumaru catering to our every needs was not enough for us. I guess Kanna and I are both quite greedy…'_ She chuckled to herself.

She looked down with awe at the sketch in her hands. _'Maybe that proud bastard knows me better than I thought. I actually am interested by all this stuff on architecture...'_ She reflected with a sigh. _'I've never put a lot of thought into what I might enjoy studying. School has never worked out for me, and unlike Sesshoumaru I didn't have a decent family business I'd one day would like to take over, which could serve as motivation in my studies... but now I actually feel like knowing more about this architecture business.'_

Kagura was amazed how good the drawing of the beach house Sesshoumaru had encouraged, and helped her make had turned out.

_`Seriously who could have ever thought I was actually good at something?'_ She wondered truly astonished by her hidden talent Sesshoumaru had helped her uncover.

_`I have no idea how that guy does it, but Sesshoumaru always manages to surprise me. I feel like he knows me better than myself…'_ Kagura mused before once more looking down at the drawing she had made. _'His father's house is truly beautiful. Had I never met Sesshoumaru, I'd never be able to be in such a place. It makes_ _me feel like a true Cinderella… A Cinderella who lies and cheats her Prince Charming though… When I look at how dishonest I've been, I wonder if_ _I deserve to be here..._ _Ever since I met him I've been living one hell of a life._ _I could get used to all this luxury, and having someone waiting on me while I rest in bed all day, but I realize now that I may be depending on Sessh a little too much. If he ever tires of me,_ _or finds out the truth_ _and leaves me, what am I going to do? It's not like I've got a back up plan or something...'_

The wind sorceress was so enthralled by her worrisome thoughts that she was startled when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" She called wondering who it could be; when the person stepped into the room she forced a smile on her lips. "Are you stalking me or something?" She joked when she realized her visitor was none other than Miroku.

"Nope. Inuyasha told us you weren't feeling well, so I came to check on you." The young human said with glinting indigo eyes, stopping not far away from the bed Kagura was resting on.

"Thanks but I'm fine. Didn't Sango and Kagome tell you? They were here not ten minutes ago." Then as Kagura noticed Miroku had a full glass in his hand she asked "What's that? Doesn't look like some of Inuyasha's mother disgusting remedy." _'Then again it was pretty successful; I don't even have stomach cramps anymore.'_

"It's just grapefruit juice. According to my uncle and great master Mushin, it's excellent to help women plagued by morning sickness during the first trimester of pregnancy." Miroku explained with a genuine smile. His smile did disappear when he noticed Kagura's eyes burning a frightening shade of bright red. Too surprised he did not even try to dodge the slipper she suddenly threw at his face.

"INUYASHA! Get your ass over here you complete idiot!" The wind sorceress yelled anger clear in her voice.

_'Oh did I put him in trouble? Oops looks like I should have held my tongue...'_ Miroku thought sheepishly as he hurried out of the master bedroom. Before leaving he did however take the time to place the glass of juice on the desk.

* * *

Miles away, a dark half demon was having a breakthrough of his own. Just as he finished reading online the article published in Youkai Daily five years ago, he diligently wrote down the information he needed.

_`Isn't the internet a delightful invention?'_ The man thought to himself a fond smile on his lips. Intent on finding who was behind the Takahashi agency he had done some research.

_`What a surprise to see that the white haired freak who had rescued that little bitch_ _and her_ _spawn is_ _none other than a wealthy CEO. He is quite a catch. Hum I always knew she had great potential…'_

The man did not even bother turning around when someone entered his bedroom.

"Nar…" The young woman started in a frightened voice, to be interrupted immediately by the man.

"What were you about to call me?" He asked, turning around to face her, red eyes gleaming with fury.

"My apologies _master_." She apologized with a bow, already knowing she would be severely punished for her mistake.

"Get undressed, and get into position on the bed; I will be joining you." He instructed, as he reached over in his closet for his favorite leather belt.

Before approaching the shaking blond woman sprawled on his bed, the dark man's red eyes rolled away to rest on the DVD he had received in the mail the previous day.

_`Time to have some fun Mr_ _Sesshoumaru Takahashi.'_

**To be continued...**

A/N: Feeling creeped out by the last segment? So was I. I've never really tried my hand at evilness, so I couldn't get into more detail. At least there was some more fluff despite the fact that Kagura is starting to have some doubts, and that an evil plan is in the works. The next chapter will be named **Winds of change**; I should let you guys find out what will happen in it, but here's a hint: things will take a turn. Helpful, no? Lol. See you guys next week (with a shorter chapter and a **lemon**).


	33. Winds of change

_**Chapter 33: Winds of change**_

A/N: Only one major thing to say, it's **very very hentai** **LEMON** time (No complaints, you were warned). Also as you may have guessed it, the fun fluffy times will end soon... Oh and Kagura's special gift will be revealed as well… guess that was more than one thing to say lol.

Thanks to my great reviewers, who are dwindling in number… maybe that means my dear readers want more excitement, don't worry it shall come soon. Ku ku ku don't complain later on.

**Killersupergirl** (**Congrats on leaving the 450threview!)**

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Foxfire7**

**Little25victor**

**Jinxy-sama**

**Mlkoolc86**

**Chunkymeatloaf** (Welcome aboard!)

**Kagura's number1 fan** (You can't blame poor Kagura from having doubts. All she knows about relationship she learned from Shinichi and her father…)

**90s gurl** (Always glad to get new reviewers. Here's your weekly update.)

_On _

**Zetsuii** (I am always glad to brighten your day. Little by little Naraku's plan will be revealed.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"I can't believe our trip's already over!" The wind sorceress sighed sadly.

"We still have tomorrow and _tonight_" Sesshoumaru reminded her looking up towards the shining crescent moon. The two of them were standing next to each other on the balcony linked to the bedroom they had been sharing, observing from afar the private beach of the Takahashi estate.

"Yeah I know. Well even if we wasted two freaking days when I was forced to stay in bed by a certain someone, and not a for a pleasant reason..." She interrupted herself to send a little glare to her boyfriend, who had not let her out of their bed for two days. It was how long it had taken him to agree with her that she had indeed completely recovered from food poisoning. She was aware he only wanted to make sure she had completely recovered, but she was still mad at missing out on having fun on the beach with their band of friends. She also felt bad for her daughter, who had insisted to stay in the master bedroom with Sesshoumaru and her mother for most of the time Kagura was feeling sick.

"We did have a great time. I don't think I ever saw Kanna have as much fun as when she jumped in the water for the first time. Even though she was afraid of the waves at first, after a while it was even hard to get her out of the water." Kagura said with a grateful smile as she laced her hand into her boyfriend's.

Sesshoumaru smirked proudly when he saw the loving and happy expression etched on the wind sorceress's face. Once again he marveled at the fact that a simple smile from Kagura was able to cause so much joy in him.

Not able to stand the suspense anymore, the silver haired youkai finally asked what he had been wondering about for some time.

"Kagura will you finally tell me what you have been hiding all this time?" Sesshoumaru asked doing his best to keep irritation away from his voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She answered, a thin eyebrow disappearing under her thick bangs.

"You little witch. What is in there?" He asked pointing a clawed finger to the present she had placed on the carved wooden table next to them. The carefully wrapped package was close to him, but not close enough for him to touch it. She had placed it there, as if only to tempt him. As much as he knew how to restrain himself, resisting temptation was still hard for him.

"Oh so _you're_ allowed to have master plans and surprises, but I'm not?" The wind sorceress chuckled as she reached over for the package. The dog demon merely huffed at her comment.

"Then close your eyes and get ready to receive your big surprise." Instead of answering her, or following her request he stared right into her crimson eyes. The two of them stayed in silence, at a complete standoff, gazing into each other's eyes, merely blinking a few times.

"Ugh fine go on and ruin my surprise. Here." She caved in handing over the package to him, a slight blush on her cheeks. The dog demon raised an eyebrow in surprise as he took the package from her hands, and with a claw carefully sliced it open. From the red wrapping came out a pristine white fabric.

"It has your scent all over it. Did you make it?" He asked as he unfolded the fabric to realize it actually was a white hand-knitted wool blanket. The only break in the simple pattern was the large blue figure of an inu youkai in massive dog form, which was knitted at the center of the blanket. _'She even knitted an inu youkai crest on it.'_ He thought impressed by the wind sorceress's skill.

"Hum surprised? Yeah well I don't go around revealing to people knitting is one of my secret hidden talents. It's just a blanket, so I know it's not much, but it's just a little thank you gift for all you've done for Kanna and me." She shrugged trying to downplay the great amount of effort she had put into the making of her gift.

"If you are wondering about when I had the time to make it, let's just say my boss isn't very demanding, so I worked on my little project at the office...and out... Oh and by the way the gift was Kanna's idea, she even suggested the dog demon figure. We just wanted you to have something a little special. I hand knitted a white blanket for Kanna before she was born, she loved it but in our haste to leave Naraku's house, I left it behind by accident… I guess Kanna simply wanted you to have a thing that meant something to her. It's okay if you don't like it, it was just a simple idea and…" Kagura was suddenly interrupted in her awkward explanation by a deep kiss pressed to her lips.

"I take it you like it." She said breathlessly when they broke apart. _`I'm so relieved. I wasn't sure he was going to like it; it's not much after all.'_ She thought heaving a relieved sigh.

_'It is the first time in so long that someone gave me something meaningful. I cannot recall what actually the last gift I received was... Probably something expensive and supposedly fitting for my refined taste; a complete opposite to Kagura's present. To think that she took the time and effort to make this herself, and even managed to hide it from me all this time. I am sure this blanket must have taken her such a long time to knit. What makes it ever more special is that Kanna also gave her input in the making of it…'_ The dog demon thought feeling an unusual warm feeling spread throughout his chest.

Sesshoumaru entertained the thought of telling Kagura how truly touched he was by her gift, or how much he loved its simplicity yet great meaning, but as usual he had a hard time finding fitting words. Instead he decided to show her his feelings in another way.

To the crimson eyed sorceress's surprise, he suddenly encircled her in a tight hug before linking their lips in a searing kiss.

_'My my had I known that to get him to be so forward, and initiate lovemaking for a change all I needed was to give him a little present, I would have done it sooner.'_ She thought responding to his kiss hungrily. Taken by surprise by the force of Sesshoumaru's passion, the wind sorceress took a step back and bumped her behind against the table.

"This is not the best place for this." Sesshoumaru said after suddenly breaking their kiss.

"Why do you always have to stop me when things get good?" Kagura asked with a hiss as she firmly placed her arms around his neck. "Here is perfect. We have a beautiful starlit sky, and the romantic sounds of the waves. Not to mention this fantastic refreshing sea breeze." She leaned forward to breathe into his ear, before giving the pointy appendage a little nip.

"Fine." The dog demon breathed out weakly with a sigh. _'Hum I was merely concerned about her comfort.'_ He thought with a shrug.

"Just one thing though..." He then trailed off as he carefully placed around her shoulders the warm blanket she had knitted for him. "This wind you seem to enjoy so much is quite chilly; you should be careful not to catch a cold."

"A cold?" Kagura asked with a chuckle trailing her fingers over the soft wool blanket. "And I thought you were about to _warm me up_?" She smiled at him suggestively.

"In that case..." He trailed off before carefully removing the blanket from her shoulders and neatly folding it. Without adding another word, the dog demon placed the gift on the wooden table behind Kagura. Seeing how meticulous he had been while handling the blanket brought a smile to her lips, and made her heart melt.

"Now where were we?" She smirked roaming her hands over Sesshoumaru's broad chest.

_'She is always so eager and impatient.'_ The dog demon thought, a proud smirk on his lips. He raised his hand to her hair, and unbound it, letting her long dark locks tumble past her shoulders. He did pay attention to gently tuck her two feathers under the blanket she had given him earlier. He then gently ran his fingers through her hair, delighting in its silky texture. Mirroring his gesture, Kagura buried her hands in his hair, and after raising herself on the tip of her toes, pressed a kiss on Sesshoumaru's lips.

The inu youkai eagerly responded to her kiss, and slipped his tongues past her lips; the action causing her to moan appreciatively. Once they broke apart, the wind sorceress quickly worked on undressing him. She firstly divested him of the light blue shirt he was wearing, revealing his chiseled torso to her appreciative eyes. With a devilish smirk, she quickly plunged her hand past his khaki pants and into his underwear, in search of his manhood. His eyes instantly bled red when the soft skin of her palm came in contact with his aroused flesh.

The dog demon idly wondered what it was about Kagura that seemed to always make him crave her, and why she seemed to be able to arouse him so effortlessly. He did not get to ponder on these matters long as Kagura's light caresses made it almost impossible for him to concentrate, and caused him to lose his train of thoughts.

Deciding to return some of the pleasure he was receiving, Sesshoumaru forced Kagura to remove the hold she had on his length, and before she could protest, he was upon her, working her soft skin with his mouth and fingers. As his lips trailed kisses over the side of his neck, his long fingers undid the zipper of the short purple summer dress she was wearing.

As soon as the purple material pooled around her waist and revealed her bare breasts, Sesshoumaru wasted no time lavishing the twin peaks in kisses and caresses. Eager to please his lady, while he gently nibbled on her right nipple, his fingers delved under the hem of her dress, and after ridding the moaning wind sorceress of her underwear, gently stroked her hidden jewel.

"I want you." Kagura murmured as her shaking yet nimble fingers unbuckled her lover's slacks before pulling down both his underwear and pants, which once they reached his ankles; he wasted no time to kick off his feet.

While he finished undressing, Kagura turned to face the table before bending over it. She smirked when she felt Sesshoumaru completely remove her dress before resting both of his hands on her hips. She moaned out when he entered her, and he in turn gave a small groan of appreciation once he was fully sheathed inside her. The wind sorceress gently moved backwards to roll against him. Getting her hint, he gently pumped forward, moving inside her.

Kagura wondered once more why it was only with Sesshoumaru that she had been able to feel this full, this warm and this satisfied when it came to love making, but a gentle movement of his inside her made her forget her thoughts.

"This isn't working." He breathed out after only a couple of thrusts. In truth, even though the position appealed to the dog demon's _natural instincts_, he could not stand not seeing Kagura's face when he made love to her. That had never been a problem with his past lovers, but with the wind sorceress things were quite different.

_'The way she opens her eyes wide in surprise as she goes over the edge is just irresistible and maddening at the same time. Even if I love seeing her expression when she climaxes, the surprise it shows is almost as if she does not expect to reach bliss while in my arms unnerves me. As if I would ever leave her unsatisfied...'_ Sesshoumaru thought with a slight frown as he stopped moving.

"What's wrong?" The wind witch asked anxious of having somehow displeased her lover.

To Kagura's surprise, instead of answering her, the dog demon left her warmth and quickly turned her around before raising her by the hips and sitting her on the wooden table, which adorned the balcony. He nudged her thighs apart, and after settling himself between them, quickly buried himself to the hilt inside her to resume their lustful dance. Not seeing any reason to protest, she wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Sesshoumaru's deep thrusts quickly increased to a fast speed, and Kagura tried her best to match them. Aiming to pleasure his lover thoroughly, the dog demon trailed a finger down her curves to finally rest against her bundle of nerves nestled in her womanhood. He could feel his release being close, therefore decided to make the wind sorceress climax quickly. To do so, he slightly raised her hips, carefully timed his thrusts and gently rubbed her hidden jewel. The wind sorceress let out sweet moans due to the depth he was now reaching, which turned into cries when he lowered his mouth to gently capture the tip of one of her breasts and suck on it. As usual Kagura was so sensitive to Sesshoumaru's caresses that it did not take her long to go over the edge.

She opened her eyes wide and bit her lower lip to contain the scream she wanted to let out when she achieved her bliss. Even though ever since their first time together, the dog demon had brought her to climax several times, she still had a hard time getting accustomed to the body shaking wonderful feelings.

Satisfied to have pleasured her, Sesshoumaru thought his own release. He let go of her nipple and closed his eyes, concentrating on the incredible feelings coursing through him. Contrary to their first night together, not seeing any reason not to show Kagura how truly she affected him, Sesshoumaru let out a deep growl when he in turn climaxed, then a contended sigh as he let his seed flow inside her.

Encircling him, Kagura pressed her chest flush against his. She allowed a soft moan to escape her lips as she pressed her head at his shoulder and closed her eyes. She tried to catch her breath, and regain some strength while waiting for her senses to calm down. After all she knew her lover, and was aware that he would be ready for another round very soon.

Sesshoumaru returned her embrace, and ran a tender hand over the perspiration slick soft skin of her back. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to get his body to calm down, and recharge is strength quickly. He after all was a young demon in his prime, and intended to dedicate every ounce of his almost boundless great energy to pleasure the woman he was still linked with. Only thinking about it caused his _reawakening_.

_'Hum time for round two.'_ Kagura thought eagerly as she felt his returned arousal. To signify to him she was ready, she pressed a kiss to the crook of her lover's neck.

_'I really cannot seem to get enough of my woman.'_ He thought with lust filled amused shiny golden eyes as he lifted Kagura from the table, and effortlessly took his lover in his arms before carrying her over to their bed where he intended to thoroughly continue what they had started.

* * *

"Hello. Office of Mr. Takahashi Sesshoumaru, how can I help you?" Mika asked twirling a strand of her short dark hair around her finger.

"Hum this must be my lucky day. Miss you have such a delightful voice, would you do me the honor of knowing the beautiful name that comes with it?" The sensual grave voice of the man on the other side of the phone made a shiver of pleasure and excitement run down Mika's spine.

_'When was the last time anyone spoke to me so nicely? Ever since Sesshoumaru replaced me with his damn_ girlfriend_, I've been so overlooked. Inuyasha and Miroku only give me the stupidest tasks ever. Ugh like making stupid copies and coffee runs...'_ She thought angrily. _`They've been stressing me up so much that it's no wonder I copy the wrong files or bring them the wrong coffee. Besides I wouldn't make mistakes if they asked nicely to begin with...'_ She reflected on the reason why she had been having troubles correctly fulfilling the requests of her new bosses.

"My name is Mika." She answered confidently. She knew it was wrong to talk, or rather flirt this way when on the job, but she could not help wanting to get some fun.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Tell me _Mika_, would it be possible for me to obtain Mr. Sesshoumaru Takahashi's cell phone number and private address?" The man's deep voice paid attention to gently whisper her name seductively.

"Well he's out of town right now, but he'll be back tomorrow, so..." Mika said using the excuse she had been instructed to provide.

"I am aware of this, but I really need to talk to my dear friend Sesshoumaru. I also have to send him a very important document. You see I have crucial information regarding the ad campaign for the... b-bags company." The man murmured softly as if revealing a secret.

"Oh really?" The young woman gasped in surprise.

_'Mr. Takahashi was so angry at me last time when I forgot to give him the USB drive with the information on the account. I wouldn't want him to get mad at me again. I know I don't have a lot of time left on my contract here, but I do want to get a good letter of recommendation. What should I do?'_ Mika wondered biting her lower lip in nervousness. Remembering Sesshoumaru's anger at her previous mistake was all it took for Mika to make her decision.

"Do you have something to write on?" She then asked before giving the stranger with the suave voice the information he had asked for.

"Thank you Mika, you have been such a great help" The seductive voice then said before hanging up.

"Oh damn! I forgot to ask for his name... Oh well no matter, he was a friend of the boss anyway. Now where is that file I had to copy again? How can everything disappear on me this early in the morning?" Mika wondered aloud as she looked for the file all over Kagura's now messy desk, which she had taken over for the week.

* * *

Naraku chuckled loudly as he hung up the phone. A bright smile appeared on his lips as he looked over at the piece of paper where he had just scribbled down the Sesshoumaru Takahashi's very personal, and very hard to obtain cell phone number, and address.

"Why did I not think of this sooner? I would have gained time instead of looking for his contact information all over the internet! No matter, my plan is now in place. Soon dear daughter of mine I shall get my revenge, then with the help of your would be protector, I will acquire my one true wish." The dark haired man then took to his feet and walked over to the glowing screen of his computer.

"Soon will come the time to pay a visit to that little bitch of Kagura and her boy toy, but first I will have some fun with them. Ku ku ku seems like the winds are shifting in _my_ favor." Naraku chuckled, a cruel smile on his lips. Feeling in a celebratory mood, he took a hold of the opened and half empty bottle of vodka on his desk and swallowed down a very generous amount of it.

* * *

"Achoo!" Kagura suddenly sneezed loudly. The action caused the demon lying by her side to open his eyes and tuck their shared blanket higher on her before holding her as close to his warm body as possible.

"Did you catch a cold? Maybe the balcony was not such a good idea. I told you there was a cold wind coming from the sea." He wondered with concern as he gently pressed a hand to her forehead to check her temperature.

With a smile, she took his hand off her head, and gave it a kiss. Kagura then turned to her side and rested her head on her boyfriend's chest. "No it was a wonderful and _very_ pleasurable idea. I'm not getting sick, and that was nothing; it just meant someone is thinking about me. Besides that wind was just a little sea breeze, which by the way, I read brings good fortune and happiness." She said with a broad smile. Then as she noticed the time displayed on the alarm clock she mumbled "Damn it's only seven in the morning. It's our last day of vacation; we're allowed to sleep in today, so get back to sleep."

"As you wish." He said holding back a chuckle. The dog demon was after all well aware then in only a few minutes Kanna would wake up, which would result in him and Kagura having to get up as well.

_'I am actually more respectful of father now that I realize caring for a child is much more demanding than I could have ever thought... but it is also quite rewarding.'_ The silver haired demon thought recalling the warm feelings seeing Kanna's bright smile created in him. Deciding not to ponder on his apparently growing feelings for the little girl, he closed his eyes and snuggled closer to his girlfriend.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Doesn't thinking of Naraku's evil plots give you shivers (and not in a good way)? What will happen when our gang goes back to the city? Find out in **Heritage**.


	34. Heritage

_**Chapter 34: Heritage**_

A/N: I've been nursing a cold lately, and the cold medicine is making my head a little fuzzy. I hope this chapter is coherent enough though lol. There's going to be a slightly **citrusy** talk between our fave couple. I don't know how else to issue the _itsy bitsy small_ warning ^_^

Hum it's funny to see how longer my chapter are for this story.. though I doubt you're complaining lol. On another note, thanks to my reviewers:

**Killersupergirl** (I'm glad the chapter and the gift were cute.)

**Sychotic** (Hope you had fun on Monday)

**Sesshkagufan13**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Little25victor**

**Jinxy-sama**

**Chunkymeatloaf**

**ALLheartsONfraya**

**Kiari13**

**Mali** (I'm happy for the review. Soon Naraku's plans will be revealed. Slowly but surely.)

**Dogsfang** (Thanks for the nice PM. Sorry for forgetting to pay back your kindness in the last chapter)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now.

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"The first day back went well." Sesshoumaru mused as he opened the door to his penthouse. He, Kagura and Kanna were finally going back home after a long day at the office. Due to his prolonged absence, the dog demon had quite a load of work waiting for him on his desk, and therefore the three demons were coming home much later than usual.

"Ugh speak for yourself! I thought I was going to kill that idiot of Mika. We were gone for _only_ a week and she managed to turn my spotless desk into a freaking battlefield!" Kagura muttered angrily as she placed Kanna into her playpen.

To the wind sorceress's dismay in only a few days Mika had managed to misplace two of the files she had compiled, and what aggravated her the most, mess up the organizational system for Sesshoumaru's appointment she had had a hard time putting together.

"I just hope she didn't mess up the mailing of the b-bags surveys. I called my friend, the manager of the center, and he told me that he had firstly sent by accident a list with the names of all the mothers who have used their services in the past three years. I just hope that Mika was smart enough to send the surveys only to the people we'd be interested in, not every single one of the past members." Kagura thought aloud with a sigh as she headed to the kitchen to grab a little snack for her daughter. Considering how late they stayed at the Takahashi agency's office, the toddler had already had dinner, but before putting Kanna to bed her mother esteemed a little snack was deserved.

"I am sure she did her best..." Sesshoumaru said trying to sound confident. He then sat on his couch and pinched the bridge of his nose, aiming to brush some of his tiredness away.

"She better." Kagura growled from the kitchen before walking back into the living room. She then gave to her daughter a sliced apple, which Kanna ate quickly.

The wind sorceress smiled happily at her daughter. Her gaze then moved from her daughter, to her boyfriend. The dog demon was sitting on the couch, his shoulders sagging slightly.

"What's wrong?" Kagura asked worriedly as she sat next to the golden eyed demon.

"Nothing." Sesshoumaru answered unable to keep in a sigh.

"Aw not feeling well? Do you want me to make you feel better? Or maybe you're tired and need to relax a little?" She asked scooting to his side to run her hands through his long silver hair. With a small smirk on her lips, she worked her fingers up to gently massage his neck and scalp. She rejoiced when she felt Sesshoumaru sigh again, but this time happily as he relaxed under her fingers.

"I am sure I will not be anymore if you keep this up." He said tilting his head to the side to allow Kagura more access to his neck.

"Seems like somebody really needs to unwind and relax a little. Maybe you've worked too much today..." _'Probably to make up for taking a week off.'_ She mused gently rubbing his neck and shoulders. _'I am to blame, after all it is for my benefit that we went to his father's beach house.'_ She thought feeling slightly guilty.

Instead of answering to her, the dog demon closed his eyes. He growled lightly when his relaxation session was interrupted by the shrill ringing of his home phone. With a sigh he gently and reluctantly pushed Kagura's fingers away, and reached for the receiver positioned on a side table close to where he was seated.

"Hey Sessh, I need to talk to you." None other than Inuyasha said.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Sesshoumaru asked eager to have Kagura's delicate fingers work his stiff muscles some more.

"Unless you want to come over here and comfort Shippou, no. The kid's been crying his eyes out since we got home." The younger Takahashi brother complained.

"What does this Sesshoumaru have to do with your child's crying?" He inquired, genuinely surprised.

"Feh! According to Shippou, Kanna took the drawing he made today at the nursery. Ever since he realized it was missing he's been crying. He's so down that I had to call the wench over. Since she got here, Kagome's been trying to comfort him, but even pocky doesn't work. He only calmed down when I told him I'd call you..." Inuyasha explained with a tired sigh.

"Preposterous!" Sesshoumaru exclaimed shocked and angered by the accusation. "Kanna would never do anything of the sort." He added looking at the little girl, who after making quick work of eating her snack was once again using her mirror to look around her.

"What's wrong?" Kagura asked worried by the frown on her boyfriend's face.

"Give me a second." He answered her before talking back to his brother. "I will see to the matter, and call you back." Without waiting for the hanyou's answer he hung up the phone.

"It would seem that Shippou is certain Kanna stole his drawing. I have no idea where he could have had this ludicrous idea..." The dog demon said angered by the accusation against his little girl.

"What?" Kagura exclaimed in shock. She walked towards Kanna's playpen and crouched to her daughter's level. "Kanna-chan, did you take something from your friend Shippou? Something that he made, like a drawing?" Wasting no time, she gently asked the little girl.

Instead of answering Kagura, Kanna put her mirror down and turned her back to her mother.

_'What's wrong? Why won't she look at me? Does that mean she really did it?'_ The wind sorceress wondered in shock.

"Kanna look at me when I'm talking to you. Did you steal Shippou's drawing?" Her mother asked her again, more of an edge in her voice, turning the little girl around to face her.

With tears budding in her dark eyes, the toddler took out from inside her white dress a folded up piece of paper, and handed it to her mother. The wind sorceress unfolded the paper and groaned when she saw it was a drawing of three people. A silver haired man, a dark haired woman and a red haired child. In addition to the subject matter, seeing the drawing's quality and attention to detail, Kagura could easily tell the drawing had not been made by her daughter, but by Shippou.

"Kanna why did you do that for?" Her mother asked in dismay, wiping away a stray tear running down the little girl's fair cheek. She turned her head to the side when she heard a faint sound behind her. Noticing that it was only Sesshoumaru, she gave all her attention back to Kanna. In fact Sesshoumaru was cautiously walking towards the two female demons, concerned about the outcome of their conversation.

"That's not like you. Come on tell me baby, why did you take Shippou's drawing?" Kagura asked again, taking her daughter in her arms and raising to her full height. She then gently rubbed Kanna's back, aiming to coax the answer out of her.

"I wanted mommy and Sesshoumaru to have a nice drawing." The little girl explained chocking out a sob.

"You could have made us one; you didn't have to steal your friend's." Her mother told her, speaking in a soothing tone.

"But Shippou's drawing is nicer! I wanted to give you a _nice_ present." The little girl defended herself willing her mother to understand the reasoning behind her action.

"Stealing isn't very nice." Sesshoumaru intervened locking his golden eyes with Kanna's dark orbs.

"Sesshoumaru's right. How would you feel is someone took away something you like very much, like your mirror, or Kuma-chan? You would be very sad, right? Well that's the same, you made Shippou very very sad... Right now he's crying a lot." Kagura said trying to make her daughter understand what she had done was wrong, and the consequences her action had.

_'I just don't understand this. Kanna has never done anything like this before.'_ The wind sorceress thought having difficulty understanding her daughter's actions.

"I wanted to make you and Sesshoumaru happy." Kanna repeated again, her bottom lip quivering.

"No matter the reason, stealing is still bad." The dog demon said with a grave tone. His remark made Kanna burst into silent tears, sobs rocking her small frame, which in turn made Kagura glare at her boyfriend for his harsh tone.

"You know Kanna-chan, whatever you draw, I am going to love. As long as you try your best, and you work hard I will be happy. That's because I am you mom, and I love you very very much." Kagura said a bright reassuring smile on her lips. She then wiped her daughter's cheeks, and pressed a kiss to her forehead, trying to make her stop crying.

"Sesshoumaru also?" Kanna asked shyly trying to contain her tears. Through her question she meant to find out if the dog demon loved her the same way her mother loved her, but the two adults inferred Kanna was rather referring to him liking any kind of artwork she could make.

"Of course. Your mother is right. You have no need to try to impress us." The dog demon agreed, wiping away some of Kanna's tears with one of his long fingers, careful of his claws.

"I am sorry." Kanna sobbed feeling sad and ashamed to have angered and disappointed both her mother and Sesshoumaru. _`I wanted to make them happy, but now they're sad and angry at me.'_ The little girl thought feeling terrible.

"You will apologize to Shippou and give him back his drawing tomorrow." Sesshoumaru stated gently caressing the back of Kanna's head.

"Also Kanna promise me you'll never do that again, okay?" Kagura asked on a threatening tone, surprising Sesshoumaru as he had never heard her talk this way.

"I promise." She answered her mother and Sesshoumaru letting out a couple of sniffles.

"Okay good. Now Kanna we'll go brush your teeth, change you into your pajamas, and then I'll put you to bed." The wind sorceress said with a tired smile, looking in her boyfriend's deep golden eyes.

"No! I'm not sleepy. I don't want to go to bed now." The young girl protested with a pout.

"You don't want to? Well sorry, but you have no say in this. I hate scolding you, but you did something bad, so you're punished. Anyway it's past your bedtime, so you'll fall asleep very quickly. Besides we did have a long day, and even I'm feeling tired." Her mother said hugging Kanna closer to her chest as she walked towards the corridor of the penthouse, ignoring her daughter's complaints.

While waiting for the return of Kagura, Sesshoumaru decided to go over the mail he had received during his week of absence. Out of the pile of bills and junk mail, a pristine white envelop caught his attention. The reason being that it had his address and name handwritten on it, and that the only information on the expeditor was "Mr. N. O". Sesshoumaru frowned when he recognized the return address to be the one of the Yuki tower, a downtown high rise building which had a fancy bar on the top floor.

"_**The truth is never as it appears. You can never really know the people you are close to. The biggest betrayal is from the people you trust."**_ Was written on the simple white piece of paper placed in the envelop.

After reading the note, the dog demon tore to pieces the letter and threw it in the trash with a scoff. It was after all not the first time he received a threatening, intimidating or mocking letter.

_'So many people are jealous of this Sesshoumaru's success.'_ He thought with a smirk.

"What could you be smiling about?" The wind sorceress asked as she noticed the smile on her boyfriend's lips.

"Nothing of interest." He brushed aside her question. "How is Kanna?"

"After a few minutes of crying, she quickly fell asleep. Ugh seriously I don't know what got into her. She's never behaved like this before." Kagura lamented shaking her head in dismay. With a sigh she sat down on the couch, where Sesshoumaru joined her. Meaning to comfort her he took her hand in his, but did not speak as he could tell Kagura had more to say.

"You know when she was born she was so silent. She didn't speak, never cried only when she was really hungry or had a dirty diaper, and even then she could spend hours with it without saying anything. All she used to do was look at me in silence. For the longest time I thought there was something wrong with her; I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to take care of her properly. Luckily the people at the young mother center helped me pay to see a doctor specialized in infant youkai development. After only a few tests he realized that Kanna was perfectly normal, and that she simply was a void demon." Kagura explained taking a deep breath.

"I have been wondering how this came to happen. Shinichi did not appear to be a void demon after all..." Sesshoumaru said recalling he had meant to ask Kagura about it during their time at the beach house.

_'With Kagura falling ill, and us having such a good time, I forgot about the issue.'_ He thought shocked that he could have forgotten to ask her about something he deemed so crucial.

"He's not. He's a hyena demon. Luckily it seems that Kanna didn't take much after him. Well she didn't take much after me either. I guess genes are funny like that..." Kagura remarked with a groan.

_'A_ hyena _demon? How pathetic; it explains his cowardly behavior. It is no wonder that Kanna did not take after him. After all even his genes are weak. Hyena are pathetic creatures in comparison to dog or wind demons.'_ Sesshoumaru mused with a smirk.

"Do you know who she takes after then?" He questioned, aiming to satisfy his curiosity.

"I'm not sure. As I told you before I never met my mother, so I have no idea what kind of demon she is. I just always inferred she is or was a kaze youkai. On the other hand I'm pretty sure Naraku has some void demon blood in him. As I'm sure you have noticed, even though at first he may look like a spider hanyou, Naraku has a _lot_ of different types of demons inside him, and I think it's the unstable mix of youki in his body that makes him crazy like that..." Kagura could not prevent a shiver of fear and disgust going through her at thinking of her father.

_'When I met that scumbag, I was so worried about getting Kanna and Kagura out of harm's way that I did not take the time to really pay attention to Naraku's scent, or demonic aura. It does not matter, it is after all not as if he will come close to Kagura or Kanna any time soon. At least not if I have anything to do about it.'_ Sesshoumaru thought to himself, a sense of protectiveness for the two female demons burning inside him.

"As I feared I guess Kanna took a lot more than I wanted after Naraku. Stealing is after all one of his specialties. My biggest fear has always been that living with that crazy asshole would influence her negatively. I did my best to protect her from him, but I guess it wasn't enough..." The wind sorceress thought angrily at herself.

_'I should have left Naraku's house sooner, or try to get Kanna away from me, without any regard for my safety. I guess I was too scared... and to be honest selfish. I needed to have her by my side, even if it wasn't the best alternative for her. I'm such a pathetic and unfit mother.'_ The wind sorceress thought feeling tears of anger and frustration coming to her crimson eyes.

The dog demon could easily sense her upset and worry, and wanted to make her feel better. Recalling her reaction when Kanna had to be rushed to the hospital when her and her mother had just moved in with him, Sesshoumaru felt a sense of unease come over him. He was sure that just as that time Kagura was once again doubting her qualities as a mother.

_'If only she could realize how much of a great mother she truly is. Kanna is really fortunate to have Kagura in her life.'_ Sesshoumaru thought unable to prevent his thoughts to then drift towards his mother once again. _'Had she had for me a fraction of the feelings Kagura has for Kanna, or had she been as thoughtful and caring as the witch is, I am quite sure I would have had a different childhood. Things were not that bad once I moved in with father. He at least did not spend his entire days ignoring me...' S_esshoumaru frowned as he realized his thoughts had sailed far away from the problem at hand.

"Kagura you are not to blame, and I do not think that your fathe... Naraku..." He corrected himself. "Had such an influence on you daughter. What Kanna did is not uncommon among children. She apologized, now knows better, and will not repeat her behavior. You have been doing a fine job raising your daughter by yourself, so do not doubt yourself." He said giving her hand a comforting squeeze before gently caressing her cheek with the back of his hand.

_'Not that I will let her bear this burden by herself anymore.'_ The dog demon thought to himself a determined light burning in his golden eyes.

_'I guess Sesshoumaru's right. I went to great lengths not to have Kanna be exposed to Naraku and his schemes, no matter how much it cost me.'_ She thought thinking back to the beatings she received on a regular basis while living with Naraku. Especially the horrible times when he drunk too much, and that after placing Kanna under her neighbor Kaede's protection, Kagura would go back home and face Naraku's anger alone. She would rather go through her regular beatings without Kanna having to witness them. Although on some occasions, despite all her precautions, her daughter had had to see some of them.

_'Now both she and I are safe, and Kanna has been changing so much. I don't know if it's Sesshoumaru's influence, or the change of environment, but she really is a different person; a better person. I shouldn't worry so much. She stole from her friend a picture to give to me and Sesshoumaru, it' doesn't mean she's going to rob a bank in a few years. Besides Sessh's right, Kanna did feel bad, and promised not to do anything of the sort again.'_ The wind sorceress thought brushing away her concerns.

"Hum I don't know how you do it, but you always know how to make a girl feel better about herself. I really don't have any idea how I could ever repay you for your kindness..." Kagura said with an appeased smile. She was amazed that her lover's comforting words had managed to reassure her and make her feel better so easily.

"Actually I think I can come up with something..." She trailed off, surprising Sesshoumaru by straddling his hips and pressing little pecks to the side of his neck. _'He's a man, so I know_ exactly _what he wants.'_ The wind sorceress thought roaming her hands over his chest.

"There is no need for this. You already thanked me." He reminded her referring to the hand knitted blanket she had given him. Without listening to his protest, she pressed soft kisses from his neck to his chin. Kagura then moved her hands to his chest, aiming to unbutton his designer shirt. To her surprise Sesshoumaru suddenly stopped her roaming palms and held them in his. The action caused her to stop working her lips over his skin

"We do not have to. You said earlier that you were tired, and do not lie to me as I can tell you truly are sleepy." The dog demon said. _'Not to mention that she does not smell aroused at all. Considering the upsetting scene that took place with Kanna, I am not surprised by this. I would not want her to force herself.'_

"There is no need to do it now if you are not at your full potential. It would indeed be useless to have sex now if you are unable to keep up with me." The dog demon explained, a small forced smile on his lips. He could after all not bring himself to tell his girlfriend that he could tell having sex was far from her mind at the moment.

Kagura opened her eyes wide in surprise at what he said. Even if it cost him to say these words, the dog demon cared more about Kagura's well being than putting her in his bed.

"Are you sure? It's okay; I can tell you want me, and you can if you want." She assured him, lowering her gaze to his lap, where she could see his clear arousal, an eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Ignore it." He ordered. "We can postpone it until tomorrow night, or until you are rested, and in the mood." He breathed deeply, trying to calm down the uncontrolled reaction of his body.

Kagura gasped at his statement, which showed Sesshoumaru how truly shocked she was by his words. "This does not only apply to tonight. Just so you know, we do not have to do it _every time_ my... body reacts to your... _proximity_." He almost groaned in despair at how awkward his explanation sounded.

_`Kagura affects me too much. If we had sex every time I am aroused, we would spend most of our time horizontally. It simply would not be possible between keeping a professional attitude at the office, and of course caring for Kanna. What a pity...'_ He thought to himself once again amazed by how strong of an effect Kagura had on him.

"It's okay. If you want to do it, we can... or at least I could make you feel good, and take the edge off." She retorted with a smile, her hand traveling up his thigh, leaving delightful goosebumps in its wake.

"If you wish to please me, then stop arguing with me. Kagura, making love is a two people act that has no meaning if you are the only one... working, and me the only one receiving pleasure." He scolded her removing her hand from his sensitive limb before it could reach its `destination.' The dog demon then gave her back a gentle rub, aiming to comfort Kagura, and show to her he was not truly angry with her. "Besides you already made me… happy… yesterday night." He added recalling fondly the great pleasures Kagura had given him the previous night to celebrate their coming home after their trip. "Tonight we will do whatever may please _you_...and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with sex."

_`I've never seen a man try to put my needs and comfort before his, or throw away an opportunity to sleep with me. I guess Sesshoumaru truly is different…'_ The wind sorceress thought in amazement, her heart fluttering in happiness. _'Maybe that's why I'm so crazy about him.'_

"Okay..." She said still under shock. Taking a deep breath she finally spoke. "Please me huh? Well I guess I'd want you to hold me." She smiled resting her head on his shoulder. A soft contented sigh escaped her lips when Sesshoumaru quickly complied with her request and embraced her as tightly as he could.

A smile appeared on her lips when he started to gently rub his large warm palms over her back, making her completely relaxed. Kagura closed her eyes, and let the comforting sound of her boyfriend's even breathing slowly lull her to sleep.

_'When was the last time anyone held me without any other ulterior motives?'_ She wondered sadly. _'Apart from Kanna I've never hugged someone just to feel good. Sesshoumaru is the one who showed me that there could be so much enjoyment in simply being held. I never could have imagined you could be so connected with someone that you'd feel pleasure by only being held by that person. I love the feel of him; I could stay in his arms forever.'_ Kagura thought right before sleep took her.

Even if he did not mention it to her, the dog demon was surprised by Kagura's reaction. _'It sounded as if she saw sex as just a way to reward me, or even worse that she sees it as an obligation to sleep with me whenever I want. She should know better and realize that I would never expect such a thing from her.'_ Sesshoumaru quickly shook his head to rid himself of the disturbing thoughts.

_'I must have misunderstood her. All that matters is that she should know that even if I desire her, if the witch is not ready to sleep with me at the moment, it's not happening. Besides she is tired, and it would be useless to have her fall asleep half way. On the other hand tomorrow we will have to make sure we take the time to make up for tonight.'_ Sesshoumaru thought to himself with a small smile, standing up with Kagura in his arms, to put her to bed in in his master bedroom, where he felt she deserved to be.

* * *

"The first phase is successfully in motion." A dark haired man said a gleeful smile on his lips. He sat up in his bed and picked up his cell phone from his side table.

"Is something wrong?" A young dark haired woman asked sitting up as well. She gently rested her head on the shoulder of the man she had just spent the evening in bed with.

"Do not touch me." He hissed angrily pushing her away roughly. "Get out of here, and you better close the door after you."

Seeing the crazed light in his dark red eyes, she wasted no time to get to her feet and grab her scattered clothes adorning the carpet of the man's bedroom.

"Master." She started knowing unlike some of her other coworkers how to properly address their boss. "Do... do you have some money for me? My rent is due soon... and I could use some cash." She breathed out shyly after gathering all her courage. The frightened woman yelped when the dark haired demon sent her a nasty glare full of hatred. She knew what he was capable of, so without another word the woman quickly ran out of her boss's bedroom.

_'This is going to be so much fun. Soon I will have both my revenge on my stupid daughter, and more importantly what I desire the most.'_ He thought happily trailing his fingers over the notepad on his side table.

_'Should I move on to the next phase, or keep having some fun? Then again planting the seed of doubt takes time, I will wait another week before advancing my plan.'_

Gently humming and unfazed by his nakedness the man stood up and picked up a pen and started writing.

_'Mr. Takahashi. You've got more mail.'_

**To be continued...**

A/N: From now on things are going to heat up. Let's see what's going to happen in **Minutes to midnight**. We're nearing a very crucial part of the story, so let's just hope the cold medicine won't make my head too fuzzy. Don't miss next time's very exciting chapter :)


	35. Minutes to midnight

_**Chapter 35: Minutes to midnight**_

A/N: One more super long chapter! I blame it on mental exhaustion, my fingers wouldn't stop typing. I hope you enjoy. I am so sorry to say that there won't be an update next week. Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Thanks to my awesome reviewers:

**Killersupergirl** (Oh yes Kanna is just a little girl, who can be naughty, but only sometimes.)

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25victor**

**Jinxy-sama**

**ALLheartsONfraya**

**Flam1ng1c3 (x2)**

**Foxfire7**

**Zinxtor**

**Soojinyeh**

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"_Hey guys. I was about to go take Kanna out for a stroll, and wanted to see if you'd like to come along." The wind sorceress asked as she entered Sango's office._

"Oh maybe not know. I am busy trying to convince Sango not to quit her job here." Kagome said a scowl similar to her boyfriend's on her face.

"You want to quit? Why Sango, is there something wrong?" Kagura asked with surprise as she took the second chair facing the desk of the head of security, and sat next to Kagome.

"No. I've been thinking about this for a while now… I like my job, but now that I'm with Miroku things are being too complicated. He is my direct supervisor, and I don't like working under my boyfriend. Now that we've gone beyond flirting, and that we are truly in a serious relationship it feels... weird." Sango tried explaining her feelings.

"It doesn't have to be! I work great with Inuyasha, and if Miroku bothers you too much at work, threaten him with a sexual harassment lawsuit. It wouldn't be the first one, and the memory of it should still be enough to make him back off." Kagome proposed. She really did not want to lose her friend; they were having too much fun working together at the workplace.

"I still think it'd be better for me to leave and go work under my father. He is getting older, and is having a harder time with his security agency. What do you think Kagura? You're also in the same situation after all. Unlike Kagome who virtually has a ring on her finger, and is assured to stay with Inuyasha forever, the two of us can't be too sure. If I ever leave that idiotic lecher, the situation at work would become horrible, don't you agree?" The head of security asked her crimson eyed friend with a shrug.

"You're already assuming that we'll break up with them?" The wind sorceress questioned an eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Of course not! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say your relationship with Sesshoumaru was not going to work out. Just like Miroku and me I am sure it's going to last, but I'm just talking hypothetically. You know... worst case scenario. Just in case I'd..." A painfully red Sango fumbled to explain.

"If you want my opinion." Kagura cut her, taking pity on the fumbling young woman. "Sango this is your decision to make. The best way to go is the one you choose. Now then Kanna's waiting for me, so I'm going to leave you girls." Kagura said as she took to her feet, and quickly left Sango's office.

* * *

"So how are things going between you and Shippou?" The wind sorceress asked her daughter as she stopped under the shade of a tree to rest. She then sat on a nearby bench and turned around the toddler's stroller to face her. It was a sunny afternoon, so following Sesshoumaru's suggestion, Kagura had decided to take Kanna out for some fresh air during her lunch break. Not to mention that she herself could use a break to distract her from her thoughts.

_'Even before Sango mentioned it, I had already been thinking about that. It's true that I'm completely dependent on Sesshoumaru, and I don't like that all that much. If we were to break up, I don't know what would happen to Kanna and me.'_ Kagura frowned, but her daughter shook her out of her thoughts.

"He still don't speak to me." Kanna explained sadly. Even though the 'incident' between her and her young friend had occurred a week ago, that Kanna had apologized, and that she had returned the drawing, the young fox demon had yet to forgive her for taking the picture he had made of his 'perfect family.'

"Aw I'm sorry to hear that baby. Maybe he'd forgive you if you apologized or gave him something in return. Like a gift or something." Kagura suggested offering her daughter some fruit juice.

"A gift?" Kanna echoed wondering what she could give her friend. The little girl waited for her mother to elaborate while she sipped some juice.

"If I remember correctly, Kagome said Shippou enjoyed little tricks. I saw a magic store around there somewhere; how about we go pick something for him?" The wind sorceress suggested already getting to her feet.

"No. I already have something for him." The young demoness said her dark eyes looking away from her mother. "I want to give it to him now."

"Okay let's go back then." Kagura said surprised by the sudden determination Kanna was showing. _'I guess she really cares for Shippou a lot. Then again it's her first friend, and... '_ Kagura's thoughts were suddenly interrupted. With a start she turned around, the hair on the back of her neck rising.

What had caused her to lose her train of thoughts was the strange feeling that someone was watching her. The wind sorceress looked around herself a few times, but not seeing anyone she simply shrugged and hurried back to the Takahashi agency's building, suddenly craving the security of Sesshoumaru's presence.

* * *

There were only a few items Kanna had come to cherish during her life. There had been the blanket her mother had knitted, which had unfortunately been forgotten at Naraku's house when the two girls had ran away too quickly. On the list there also was the small mirror that had once belonged to Kagura, and the little white bear she named Kuma-chan that Sesshoumaru had given her. Lastly there was a new item she had grown to love, a set of two white sea shells the dog demon had picked on the beach for her during their little vacation. She could remember how they had come into her position.

***Flashback***

Sesshoumaru silently observed the little girl carefully installed on the carpet of the master bedroom of his father's summer house. He then briefly rolled his golden eyes to the side to observe Kagura who was profoundly sleeping on the bed next to him, a hand resting on her stomach. _'It appears Inuyasha's remedy does do wonders.'_

Only an hour after she had started reading the books on architecture her boyfriend had brought her, the wind sorceress had fallen asleep. Sesshoumaru inferred it was due to the medicine Inuyasha had made for her.

Since her mother was not at the moment capable to take care of her, the dog demon had taken it upon him to do his best to entertain Kanna. With a soft sigh, he reached over to his bed side table and took the little present he had prepared for the toddler. He then took to his feet and walked towards the toddler.

"Here." Sesshoumaru said as he lowered himself to Kanna's level, handing her the little gift he had gotten for her the day before.

"Pretty" Kanna said taking the two white objects before critically observing them.

"They are seashells." He supplied when he noticed the little girl's apparent confusion. "Here" he then added taking one of the two seashells and pressing it against Kanna's left ear.

"The sea?" The little girl gasped in shock amazed by the sounds that were coming from the seashell.

"Not exactly, but it does sound like the waves of the ocean." Sesshoumaru smiled faintly, peering down into Kanna's brightened dark orbs.

He could still remember when he had been in Kanna's position, and his father had been the one to give him a seashell. This had happened when they had come to the beach house years ago, when Sesshoumaru was but a mere child. It had been one of the best summer vacation he had ever had. It had also been the only time his father had taken care of him for a long stretch of time before he had gotten full custody of him. The reason being that his mother had gone on a month long cruise in the Mediterranean sea and had dumped her son at his father's doorstep before leaving.

_'The innocent amazement of children is so refreshing.'_ The dog demon smiled observing Kanna's sparkling eyes.

"Can I keep it?" She asked him shyly. At Sesshoumaru's affirmative nod she smiled brightly. "Thank you. I love it."

"Go back to playing for now. I have work to do." Sesshoumaru instructed as he gently ruffled Kanna's short pale blond hair before getting back to his feet and settling back on the bed with his laptop.

***End of Flashback***

"Shippou. Here it's for you." Kanna said extending a palm to her friend. As soon as her mother had dropped her back at the nursery, the little girl had started working on getting her friend back.

Even if he wanted to appear cold and uninterested, the young fox demon could not help but look at what she was handing him in peace offering. He gasped when he saw that it was none other than one of the two seashells Sesshoumaru had given her during their week long vacation.

"Wow! Really you'll give one of them to me? Are you sure? I know you like them so much." He asked surprised Kanna would be willing to part with the gift she was so proud of. She nodded her head in assent at his question, which made him grin happily.

"That's awesome! Thanks Kanna. Well... I also have something for you. I bought it with Kagome yesterday." The young fox demon then fished into his pocket to retrieve two white hair pins in the form of a flower.

"That's for me?" Kanna asked in surprise as she took the hairpins from her friend's hand.

"Yeah. I'm sorry for getting really mad at you. I want us to be friends again; that's why I wanted to give this to you." Shippou said with a shy smile.

"Friends." Kanna said faintly, returning Shippou's smile. Just like that, the two children were best friends again.

* * *

"Sesshoumaru look!" The dog demon who was sitting behind his office desk barely had time to look up at hearing someone call his name that he felt something latching on his knee. He lowered his golden eyes, and the ghost of a smile appeared on his lips when he saw that his `attacker' was none other than Kanna.

"Wow Kanna-chan I had no idea you could run this fast." Kagura chuckled as she closed the door of her boyfriend's office behind her. The wind sorceress was impressed how fast her daughter had indeed made it to the dog demon's side.

"What is it you wanted to show me?" The inu youkai asked raising Kanna in his arms to carefully sit her on his knees, to the toddler's great delight.

"This." She pointed to her head with a smile. On each of her temple were now delicately placed two large white flowers.

"New hairpins? They are very pretty." He commented smoothing a tender hand over the little girl's white hair.

"A gift from Shippou." Kagura explained as she walked over to the two demons she lived with. She tried forcing a smile on her lips as she could not help but think back to her previous conversation with Sango and Kagome, and the thoughts it had provoked in her.

"I take it he forgave you for taking his drawing last week?" Sesshoumaru asked the little girl whose eyes were now locked with interest on the CEO's desk where his art utensils were splayed.

"Yep he even agreed to help her improve her drawing skills. Didn't he Kanna-chan?" Her mother chuckled noticing with amusement how her daughter seemed captivated by Sesshoumaru's latest sketches.

"I want to make a pretty picture of mommy Sesshoumaru and Kanna, like this." The young youkai said pointing to the dog demon's work. _`Even Shippou's drawing is not so good.'_ She thought truly impressed by the dog demon's skills.

"I'm looking forward to seeing it." Sesshoumaru assured her. His words made a smile appear on the young void youkai's lips.

Kagura took a long minute to take in the image Sesshoumaru and Kanna were offering her. Anyone who would walk in and not know the relationship between the two demons would certainly take them for father and child.

_`These two have become quite close. I just hope I won't regret letting Kanna get this attached to Sesshoumaru. I can take getting hurt, but I never want her to have to suffer for my choices, whatever they may be…'_ The wind witch thought a slight frown on her face.

"You seem worried Kagura. Is something the matter?" Sesshoumaru asked his girlfriend as he handed a pencil to Kanna, allowing her to draw on a blank piece of paper resting on his desk, which amused the toddler greatly.

"No it's nothing." Kagura brushed his concern aside.

"Do not lie. `Nothing' would not make you frown like this." He retorted his golden eyes piercing her with a sharp glare.

_'Damn he_ does _know me too well.'_ Kagura thought with a small sigh.

The wind sorceress pondered on whether to tell Sesshoumaru about her concerned thoughts, but decided against it. _'I'm not really looking forward to telling himI'm having doubts on our relationship… Besides he'd probably tell me not to worry anyway...'_

Since she however knew Sesshoumaru would be wanting some sort of answer from her, she said "Well if you must know, it's kind of weird, but when I was out taking a stroll with Kanna earlier, I felt like I was being followed." _`That may not have been what I was worrying about just, but it's true. As creepy as it sounds, I can't shake off the feeling that someone's been watching me.'_

"Followed?" Sesshoumaru echoed instinctively placing his arm around Kanna, securing his hold on her. Kagura's words had made a surge of protectiveness go through the dog demon.

"Yeah… now that I think about it, it wasn't the first time it happened. It also happened last week when I was out having lunch with Kagome and Sango, and they both also felt like someone was watching us." The wind sorceress said suddenly feeling her worry grow. Before she mentioned the two incidents to Sesshoumaru, she had not realized how strange and scary the situation actually sounded. She had not even made a connection between the two occurrences.

"Sango is trained to know if someone is indeed following her, and she may not look much, but Kagome is a powerful miko; she can feel demonic auras especially when they pose a danger." Sesshoumaru muttered more to himself than to Kagura.

He stayed silent for a little while, a dark frown on his face. "From today on Kanna and you will not be left alone outside of the penthouse or the office building." He finally ordered, protectively resting his large hand on the little girl's white hair.

"Oh hell no! I'm strong enough to take care of myself." The wind sorceress retorted angrily. "I'm not going to let you cage me!" Her refusal to listen to him caused his golden eyes to briefly flash red.

"Witch I do not intend to cage you, but to _protect_ you. Would you put Kanna's safety at risk as well?" He asked already knowing the answer. "This Sesshoumaru did not say you were to stay locked all the time. I merely wish to make sure you are protected at all times…" He trailed off not able to prevent his eyes to rest on the trash can resting a few feet away from him.

_`The timings coincide a little too well to my liking. Ever since last week I have been receiving these strange letters. Had it been the work of my typical jealous competitors the letters would have stopped coming by now. No these messages seem too personal. Whoever this Mr. N.O., who is behind them is, he poses a threat to me and the people I care about, but I aim to protect them. Which means that I first need to find out who this N.O. is.'_ The dog demon thought feeling an angry growl form in his chest. He could easily recall what today's letter had said and it infuriated him even more.

_**`Soon your eyes will be opened to the truth by ME.'**_ Were the exact words written on the note sent to Sesshoumaru's office that morning. He had been receiving the suspicious letters continuously for a week, both at home and at the office, and it was really getting on his nerves .

_`Whoever or whatever is behind this better pray I never put my hands on them because if I do, they will regret the day they were born.'_ He thought as the words of today's note came back to his mind.

"Hum I don't know what you're thinking about, but you're looking pretty pissed. Why don't we do that? I retain my freedom, but I promise to be careful." Kagura smiled sweetly as she walked towards the dog demon and her daughter. Her answer made him want to snarl at her, but Sesshoumaru knew better. Telling Kagura do something would only push her to do exactly the _opposite_.

_'If she refuses to abide to my rules, then I will have to keep a constant watch over her. Kagura and Kanna will not leave my sight, and if for some unlikely reason I am not able to be by their side I will dispatch Inuyasha or Sango."_ Pleased with his new idea, he decided to relent.

"Fine do as you wish, but remember your promise to be careful." Sesshoumaru told the wind sorceress while looking up straight into her crimson eyes.

"I know. There's no need for you to worry at all. Now Kanna-chan you showed him what you wanted, so it's about time to let Sesshoumaru work and bring you back to the nursery." The wind sorceress added as she pressed a quick kiss to her boyfriend's lips before plucking Kanna from the dog demon's knee. Then noticing her daughter's clear disappointment at being separated from Sesshoumaru too early to her liking, Kagura added "Don't be sad while you're there you'll be able to start working on the pretty picture you promised Sesshoumaru and me, right?"

"Yes." Kanna agreed hooking her arms around her mother's neck, signifying to her she did not want to be put down yet.

"My my one of these days you're going to have to learn how to use your feet; you're becoming quite heavy baby." Kagura teased her daughter pressing a kiss to her cheek before tossing her in the air a few time, to the toddler's delight.

Sesshoumaru smiled faintly as the two female youkai left his office. The door had barely closed behind Kagura's back that he heard his cell phone ring. He frowned as he knew that only a handful of people actually knew the number, and that all said people were in the building at the time and would therefore have no reason to call his private number when they could just as usually call his office.

"What?" Sesshoumaru asked raising a thin silver eyebrow.

"Ku ku ku is that a decent way to answer your phone Sesshoumaru? Now you do have to remember to be more respectful of your family members." A deep male voice said at the other end of the line.

"Who are you?" The dog demon asked with a frown. His only family member he had some feelings for was Inuyasha, and he was only a few corridors away.

"I just said it, didn't I? We are _family_. More precisely I am your father-in-law since you of course will not deny that you're fucking _my daughter_. You might call me N.O. or _Naraku Onigumo_ though." The answer made the dog demon growl in anger. "Now my dear _son_ you must be wondering how I got your number? Well you have a delightful secretary named Mika. A true gem, you should thank her for me." Naraku said a delighted smile on his lips.

"What do you want? I have no patience for you." Sesshoumaru retorted sharply.

"Tst tst such a bad personality. Wonder what Kagura sees in you... then again the bitch never had a lot of taste…" Naraku let out a small chuckle, which grated on Sesshoumaru's nerves.

"Do not speak of her!" The young inu youkai interjected on a hate filled tone.

"Ah it seems I hit a nerve. No wonder you dog demons are such protective beings after all. I do wonder why you care so much for that little bitch though. She does not deserve you as I'm pretty sure you do not know _all_ about her. Kagura has always been such a blatant liar..." Naraku said thoughtfully.

"Nothing _you_ could say about Kagura would ever be able affect the opinion I have of her." Sesshoumaru said angry at himself for allowing Naraku to get him riled up.

"Oh! Is that so? Well did my bitch of a daughter tell you she used to be a _whore_?"

* * *

_'Ugh why do I have to take care of all this again?'_ Kagura wondered with a sigh as she sorted through an amount of papers which used to litter Sesshoumaru's desk. She was calmly working on making small little piles while seating behind her own desk as she told herself again _'I still wonder how such a smart looking man can actually be such a mess? Not that this imbecile of Mika helped. She managed to mix up so many of Sesshoumaru's damn files.'_

The wind sorceress's thoughts were interrupted when she saw some sort of legal looking document which served as the proof of a payment. What really shocked her was the name of the person to which the payment had been made to. She had to look at the name for a long time before deciding on the best course of action.

_'What is the meaning of this?'_ Kagura thought in shock. _'Maybe I should ask Sesshoumaru...'_ She wondered biting her lower lip. '_Then again he'd probably simply deny it, and try to turn my mind around.'_ She thought with a snort. _`He is good at not answering questions…'_

Kagura thought some more on whether she was taking the right decision. A part of her was aware that Sesshoumaru might be upset if he found out about what she was about to do. _`Then again, I am a free person entitled to talk to whoever I want. I'll just talk to him, not run away with him or something…'_

_'If I want the truth, I better get to the person at the middle of all this. Even if I_ really _do not want to talk to_ him _of all people.'_ The wind sorceress thought her crimson eyes burning in hatred and anger.

Unable to wrap her mind around what the paper could have really meant Kagura quickly fished out her cell phone and dialed a number she knew by heart, even though she had hoped never to speak to the person on the other line.

"I don't want to talk to you, but I have a question to ask and I'll make it fast." Kagura quickly spoke as soon as the other person picked up his phone.

"Hum Kagura I must say I am surprised by your call. So what is it you want _honey_?" A male voice filled with amusement answered her.

"Don't you dare call me like that _Shinichi_..." She spat angrily feeling anger coursing in her veins.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Wow tons of things happening. What does Naraku want? And what will Kagura ask Shinichi? Find out next time in **House of cards** where truths and secrets will _finally_ be revealed. See you guys in two weeks!


	36. House of cards

_**Chapter 36: House of cards**_

A/N: I'm baaack! I decided to update early since it's been a while. I hope you had fun, and didn't miss me too much during my tiny hiatus. Not much to say except thanks to my awesome reviewers:

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25victor**

**Jinxy-sama**

**ALLheartsONfraya**

**Foxfire7**

**Soojinyeh** (The tension will be heightened for sure. Oh and Kagura won't be the only one regretting keeping little secrets.)

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Kiari 13**

**Daijanohei**

**Dogsfang** (Thanks for the nice PM's)

_On _

**Zetsuii** (I was so out of it last time that I forgot to thank you. I am really sorry.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_Unable to wrap her mind around what the paper could have really meant Kagura quickly fished out her cell phone and dialed a number she knew by heart, even though she had hoped never to speak to the person on the other line._

"_I don't want to talk to you, but I have a question to ask and I'll make it fast." Kagura quickly spoke as soon as the other person picked up his phone._

"_Hum Kagura I must say I am surprised by your call. So what is it you want honey?" A male voice filled with amusement answered her._

"_Don't you dare call me like that_ Shinichi_..." She spat angrily feeling rage coursing in her veins._

"Come down _honey_, so what do you want to ask me?" Her ex lover asked amusement clear in his voice.

"Just shut up and listen then everything will go quickly. Why did you get money from Sesshoumaru for?" The wind sorceress asked her eyes once again landing on the paper she had been about to file for her boss.

"Ah! So you're little _sugar daddy_ didn't tell you? Oh he does seem like the type to keep secrets. Well it could also be that he doesn't trust you, or maybe he just doesn't care about you that much." Shinichi chuckled amused. The young hyena demon was supposed to be out of the office by now, and talking to his ex would be sure to make him late, but he saw it as a more amusing distraction than getting ready for another dreadful and boring dinner with his future parents in-law. His wedding was only a week away, and such family gatherings were taking place a little too much to his liking.

"Answer my damn question!" Kagura ordered angrily. Simply talking to the man who had betrayed her made her feel sick, but she found it a more acceptable alternative to get to the truth then barging into Sesshoumaru's office, asking for answers.

"I'm not sure I should. After all talking to you would be a clear violation of the agreement I have with your sugar daddy... then again I was never good with rules, not to mention that talking to you would be sure to make that stuck up asshole angry. I am still mad at him for busting my nose..." Shinichi trailed off running a finger over the small bump that had formed on his once flawless appendage, courtesy of Sesshoumaru's blow months ago.

"I said answer the damn question." Kagura growled again, unwilling to let Shinichi get to her.

"As impatient as ever _love_. Fine I'll tell you everything then; your dear savior paid me 50,000 dollars to stay away from you and relinquish my parental rights on that spawn of yours. His fancy lawyer made me sign tons of papers, I had a little talk with my own lawyer, a family judge approved the decision, and then voila! I got my check. To be honest, had I known your sugar daddy was a _Takahashi_ and that he was _that_ loaded I would have asked for _way_ more money." Shinichi said still feeling sour over the greater amount of money he _could_ have made.

"Sesshoumaru did what?" The wind sorceress asked in surprise, her ex lover's explanation shocking her immensely.

"Geez you idiot can you be any more dense? He bought me off! Not that I wasn't willing to take him up on his offer..." The young demon said thoughtfully.

"Now." He then added on a suddenly grave and seductive tone. "If you ever get tired of your frigid ice cube of a sugar daddy, give me a call. After all we all know money can't make up for a lousy lover... Hum how stupid of me! Honey were you calling me because you wanted to get together again? I can look at my schedule and see when I'd be free to see you. My fiancée is quite a demanding leech, which is often times the case with rich spoiled bitches, but I can always clear some of my business schedule and make time for you."

"Don't insult me! Do you seriously think that after all you've done I'd be interested in you? I'd rather die than be in your presence again!" Kagura growled. "I called you only because I needed information that's all. Not even married yet and already cheating? You're really even more pathetic than I thought. I'm so glad I am free of you, and. Kanna will be so much better off never knowing about you."

Kagura added before ending the call and flipping her cell phone close.

"I can't believe Sesshoumaru did that for me." She murmured to herself in disbelief before getting to her feet and hurrying to the dog demon's adjacent office.

* * *

"Here's the file you asked for." Kagome announced as she stepped into her boyfriend's office. She quickly walked towards him and placed the thick manila folder on his shiny dark wood desk.

"Why the long face wench?" Inuyasha asked trying and failing to hide his worry.

"Hum? No it's nothing." She retorted trying to force a small smile for his sake.

"Hey don't forget I can tell when you're lying." He reminded her cockily

"I don't know what's wrong, but I can't shake the feeling that something bad's about to happen." Kagome said a slight shiver going through her.

"What are you blabbering about? You ain't got nothing to worry about as long as I'm here to protect you, you know that right?" Inuyasha asked walking cautiously towards the woman he loved. Even if he did not show it, he could not help but notice Kagome had not screamed at him for calling him a 'wench,' and this worried him.

"Of course I do." Kagome smiled in a more genuine fashion when she noticed her boyfriend's sagging ears. "Well I'm mostly reassured because I know Sango is also watching us from the security monitors." She added meaning to tease her boyfriend.

"Are you trying to get me mad?" Inuyasha asked encircling Kagome in a tight hug. Even if he knew she spoke in jest, having the person he considered to be his mate doubt his ability to protect her unnerved his dog demon nature.

"Is it working?" She asked pressing a quick chaste kiss to his lips.

"First let's go get the runt and go home, and I'll answer your question" Inuyasha smirked lustfully.

"Oh don't forget that I'm spending the night over at the shrine tonight. You know that as opened minded as she is, Mama doesn't want me to sleep out of my bed for more than three consecutive nights." Kagome gently reminded her boyfriend.

"Stupid rules. You should just move in with me and the kid already." Inuyasha grumbled as he reluctantly let go of Kagome, a pout on his lips.

"Are you _asking_ me to move in with you?" The young human asked with a gasp. She knew that Inuyasha was aware that even if Mrs. Hana Higurashi loved Inuyasha dearly, she would never let her dear daughter move out of the family house without being married, or at least engaged beforehand.

"Keh! I've been talking to your mom and stuff... Besides I already gave you a key to the apartment, didn't I?" The inu hanyou asked with cheeks tainted in a light pink. He quickly turned around not willing for his lover to see his embarrassment.

"I will gladly live with you and Shippou… as soon as I get the okay from Mama of course." Kagome squealed in happiness before throwing herself in her boyfriend's arms. Basking into her happiness, she ignored the uncomfortable feeling she had had earlier.

* * *

"_Tst tst such a bad personality. Wonder what Kagura sees in you..." Naraku let out a small chuckle, which grated on Sesshoumaru's nerves._

"_Do not speak of her!" The young inu youkai interjected on a hate filled tone._

"_Ah it seems I hit a nerve. No wonder you dog demons are such protective beings. I do wonder why you care so much for that little bitch though. She does not deserve you as I'm pretty sure you do not know all about her." Naraku said thoughtfully._

"_Nothing_ you _could say about Kagura would ever be able affect the opinion I have of her." Sesshoumaru said angry at himself for allowing Naraku to get him riled up._

"_Oh! Is that so? Well did my bitch of a daughter tell you she used to be a_ whore_?"_

"What did you just call Kagura?" Sesshoumaru asked, his hold on his cell phone tightening. Only when he heard the pleading sound of the plastic cracking did he relax his fist.

"Oh you heard me. I would bet a hefty sum of money that she did not tell you she was one of the women available in my very exclusive brothel. For some reason so many of my wealthy clients were eager to sleep with the daughter of the boss. Then again it could be due to Kagura's skills in the bedroom, which I am sure you have benefited from." Naraku said amused. His light tone made Sesshoumaru's eyes flash red in anger, and the taste of bile rise in his throat.

"Why are you telling this to this Sesshoumaru?" He asked trying to pretend that Naraku's words did not affect him in the least.

"Well _this Naraku_ has a proposal for you." He chuckled, mocking the dog demon. "You are so protective that I am sure you would love to get your hands on something I am willing to sell." The spider hanyou paused, testing to see if he still had Sesshoumaru's undivided attention.

"As lucrative as it might be, my business still has yet to give me the opportunity to acquire the thing I want the most..." The hanyou said on a light tone.

"Get to the point." Sesshoumaru interrupted him not willing to speak to Naraku longer than necessary.

"So so impatient. Well then I will heed your demand Mr. Takahashi and get to the point. I have decided to close down my brothel as it really is not as enjoyable as it used to be." The spider hanyou lied effortlessly. _'As if I would ever close down my lucrative business, I do have a living to make. However Kagura's boy toy will help me get what I want faster, so deceiving him is necessary.'_ He thought a smirk on his lips.

"I therefore need to get rid of my little _black book_ containing the names of all my clients and _employees_. You will of course find in it every date Kagura has had as Kaze. I figured you would be interested in getting your hands on it rather than one of your business rivals... or even the press. I can see the juicy headlines from here. 'Rich CEO involved with high end prostitute'. Wouldn't that make good news? " Naraku revealed part of his plan.

"You will regret this." The dog demon said feeling his blood boil.

"Ku ku ku. You are a good watch dog, aren't you? I wonder why you are so protective of my daughter considering she is a blatant liar and a back stabbing bitch. I should know, she had no trouble betraying me to run away with you and her spawn. I shall give you a piece of advice, do not get too attached to my dear daughter. She uses men and will have no trouble lying to you to get whatever she wants from you." The hanyou said lightly.

"I have no need of any advice coming from you. What will it take to keep you away from Kagura?" Sesshoumaru asked even if he already could tell where the conversation was heading.

"Hum let's see... The last time I checked, the Shikon Jewel, which I am trying to acquire had a one million dollars price tag..." The hanyou trailed off thoughtfully. "So I guess a million dollars in cash would be a good trade off."

"When?" The dog demon growled.

"If you want my book, have the money ready by tonight..." Naraku answered a smile on his lips.

"You know it will be impossible." Sesshoumaru retorted his eyes narrowing, anger pumping through him. Getting the money Naraku asked would not be too much of an issue for Sesshoumaru; the problem however resided in the time frame.

_'I can use some of the money I put away for emergencies, but I will need a lot more than a few hours to get it in cash... not to mention that I doubt Naraku will stop at getting money from me. Then again if he only messes with me or my bank account, I can handle it. However I will_ never _let him anywhere near Kagura or Kanna. I will protect them; neither will know of Naraku's plan.'_ Sesshoumaru vowed, a protective feeling burning inside him.

"Ah my dear Sesshoumaru-sama, unless you want Kagura to suffer, and your reputation to be tainted, or destroyed by your lover's dirty little secret going public, I am sure you will find a way." The spider half demon said deeply amused. "Then again if you cannot get the money, I can always try selling my black book to the newspaper Youkai Daily... didn't they once write an article on you and your agency, praising you for being an upstanding citizen and businessman?" Naraku said trying to mask his threat by using a light tone.

"You asshole..." The dog demon growled. He was not one to curse, but he felt it was warranted for once.

"Now now no need for such a _colorful_ vocabulary. It seems to me that you have made your choice, good. As Kagura would be sure to tell you, I cannot stand tardiness, so be sure to be on time. I shall see you at midnight at the bar on the 33rd floor of the Yuki tower. Be sure to send my love to both my dear daughter and granddaughter. See you at midnight dear son in-law." Without another word Naraku hung up the phone.

A deep growl escaping his throat, Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to smash his cell phone against the wall of his office. The main reason for his restraint was that he would after all still need the device to place very important calls.

_'Damn that evil bastard of Naraku! I will not let him destroy the family I have gained. I will do whatever it takes to protect Kanna and Kagura from him.'_ The dog demon's thoughts were interrupted when none other than the woman he had just swore to protect barged into his office.

Noticing Kagura's upset by her facial expression, he did his best to school his features and pretend he had not just talked to Naraku. Even though he was worried about what Naraku might do next, Sesshoumaru did not want Kagura to have to worry or be involved with her father in any way.

"Is something the matter?" He asked, then as he realized only one thing could cause Kagura to be this upset he added fear gripping his chest "Is Kanna alright?"

"Yes she's fine, but I'm not. What the fuck does that mean?" The wind sorceress asked as she slammed the legal document she had found earlier on her boyfriend's desk.

"It is a proof of a payment being received…" He dismissed the matter. Considering the threat of Naraku over their heads, and the nature of the secret Kagura had been hiding and that he had just found out about, Sesshoumaru felt as if the deal he had made with Shinichi was quite unimportant.

"Duh! I got that part; even I'm not that stupid! Why didn't you tell me about buying off Shinichi? I thought you'd tell me something so important. You promised to be honest with me, didn't you?" The wind sorceress asked a dark frown still on her face.

Sesshoumaru twitched at her accusation and use of the word `_honesty'_. During his conversation with Naraku, he had done his best not to let his anger burst out, as he needed to keep a calm mind if he was to defeat the half spider demon. For this reason he had not pondered much about the sudden revelation on his girlfriend's past, and had nicely tucked the information away, aiming to sort it out later on when anger and resentment would not be the major things on his mind. On the other hand Kagura's sudden, and in his opinion unwarranted, accusatory words brought all his feelings up to the surface. Despite his frosty disposition towards outwardly showing his feelings, he could feel them coming to the surface.

_'Being honest?'_ The dog demon thought angrily. _'She who has been lying to my face from the start, who played me for a fool, she dares speak of_ honesty_?'_ He thought his protective feelings for Kagura being pushed away by a strong fury He felt hurt and betrayed, and all of a sudden he wanted to hurt Kagura in return, he felt as if seeing her in pain would make him feel better…

**To be continued...**

A/N: Secrets have come out, and Naraku makes a move. But what will happen next time? We'll find out in **Explosion**. Oh and yes I know the timings are a little too perfect in the story, but if I wasn't so how would the evil fanfic author that I am express all my evilness?... Anyways see you next week!


	37. Explosion

_**Chapter 37:Explosion**_

A/N: I've written, scratched down, and rewrote this chapter so many times! I'm kind of nervous about it, but do hope you will enjoy it. Ah and remember it is the holidays season, so be merciful on me lol.

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25victor**

**Jinxy-sama**

**Soojinyeh**

**Kiari 13**

**Mali** (The normal length of a chapter for me is around 2,500-3,000 words, but lately I have been doing extremely long 4,000 words chapters depending on my dear muse. This one is super long, so I hope you enjoy.)

**Kagura's number one fan** (Strangely many people are blaming Sesshoumaru for his lack of honesty, but Kagura could have been more honest as well.)

_On _

**Zetsuii** (Thanks for the continuous support. I really appreciate my lone MM reviewer.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

'Damn that evil bastard of Naraku! I will not let him destroy the family I have gained. I will do whatever it takes to protect Kanna and Kagura from him.' _The dog demon's thoughts were interrupted when none other than the woman he had just swore to protect barged into his office._

_Noticing Kagura's upset by her facial expression, he did his best to school his features and pretend he had not just talked to Naraku. Even though he was worried about what Naraku might do next, Sesshoumaru did not want Kagura to worry or be involved with her father in any way._

"_Is something the matter?" He asked, then as he realized only one thing could cause Kagura to be this upset he added fear gripping his chest "Is Kanna alright?"_

"_Yes she's fine, but I'm not. What the fuck does that mean?" The wind sorceress asked as she slammed the legal document she had found earlier on her boyfriend's desk._

"_It is a proof of a payment being received…" He dismissed the matter. Considering the threat of Naraku over their heads, and the nature of the secret Kagura had been hiding and that he had just found out about, Sesshoumaru felt as if the deal he had made with Shinichi was quite unimportant._

"_Duh! I got that part; even I'm not that stupid! Why didn't you tell me about buying off Shinichi? I thought you'd tell me something so important. You promised to be honest with me, didn't you?" The wind sorceress asked a dark frown still on her face._

_Sesshoumaru twitched at her accusation and use of the word `honesty'. During his conversation with Naraku, he had done his best not to let his anger burst out, as he needed to keep a calm mind if he was to defeat the half spider demon. For this reason he had not pondered much about the sudden revelation on his girlfriend's past, and had nicely tucked the information away, aiming to sort it out later on when anger and resentment would not be the major things on his mind. On the other hand Kagura's sudden, and in his opinion unwarranted, accusatory words brought all his feelings up to the surface. Despite his frosty disposition towards outwardly showing his feelings, he could feel them coming to the surface._

'Being honest?' _The dog demon thought angrily._ 'She who has been lying to my face from the start, who played me for a fool, she dares speak of honesty?' _He thought his protective feelings for Kagura being pushed away by a strong fury He felt hurt and betrayed, and all of a sudden he wanted to hurt Kagura in return, he felt as if seeing her in pain would make him feel better._

"What were you thinking? You made Shinichi give up his parental rights on _MY_ daughter, without asking me? Without even _telling_ me?" Kagura roared angrily, not even noticing the dog demon's own upset.

At the simple mention of her ex boyfriend's name, he felt his anger grow. Not wanting to scare Kagura, he took long, deep, calming breaths before answering. As much as earlier his mind had strayed and wondered about hurting the wind sorceress, the dog demon knew how ludicrous the idea was. He cared too much for her to be able to hurt her.

_`As angry as I may be with her, I know I would_ never _deliberately hurt her, or do her any harm.'_ Sesshoumaru told himself as he took to his feet. He then walked around his massive desk and faced the woman who had been sharing his bed for the past month and a half.

"Kagura. There is no reason to argue about this; it is quite simple. What I did, I did to protect you. All I want is to protect you and make you happy." He let out, relieved to have managed to get a reign on his emotions before doing something he might have regretted.

_'As unfortunate as it is for Kagura to have found out, and try to confront me now, we shouldn't be arguing. Nor will I take my anger for Naraku out on her. He will have what is coming for him later on... that is if I manage to get my plan into action. To implement it I need to do many things, and therefore right now I really do not have time to quarrel with Kagura.'_ Sesshoumaru thought his mind already fast at work on punishing his lover's father. _`He will find out what happens to anyone who dares mess with this Sesshoumaru.'_

"Ugh stop it with this protecting crap! Don't you dare patronize me! I don't need protection. I can handle myself." She spat at him, vexed he did not think her strong enough to take care of herself.

_'It's so fucking infuriating! How can he not understand that I am able to look after myself, and that I don't want, or need to rely on anyone other than myself.'_ The wind sorceress thought angered.

"I wanted to do what would be best for both Kanna and you." The dog demon said lightly, trying to dismiss the problem as he did during their last argument, which had taken place after their first night together. He was sure a few soothing words would be able to lay Kagura's mind to rest. Feeling reassured, he gave his wristwatch a quick glance, checking to see if he would have enough time to put his plan into action before midnight.

"I can take these kinds of decisions myself. _I_ know what is best for us." She retorted, her crimson eyes glinting brightly. "I'm tired of people trying to rule my life for me. Telling me what I should do or what would be best for me. My father did that enough..." The wind sorceress sighed.

"Don't you dare even insinuate this Sesshoumaru is anything like that scumbag!" He suddenly cut her, angry that she dared compare the two of them. Her words had gotten his full attention, and his plans of taking revenge on Naraku had suddenly been moved to the back of his mind. _`Maybe this whole thing will be more complicated than I thought originally…'_ He thought keeping in a groan of despair, reassessing his take on the big argument he could feel coming.

"Oh yes like you're _so_ different..." She spat scornfully. She quickly realized how hurtful her words were, but she however did not apologize. Kagura was at the time too consumed by her anger; not to mention that she aimed to use any means necessary to make her point come across, even if it might wound her lover. "You made decisions for me, and then lied to me about it. You knew I'd be mad; that's why you didn't tell me!"

"You were the one to say you were afraid Shinichi would take your daughter away." Sesshoumaru reminded her.

"Yes, I did say that, but I wanted to find a solution by myself. Resolve my own problems!" She tried explaining her mind to him. "You can relate… I mean you don't go around telling me about _your_ troubles and asking me to take care of them for you, do you?"

"That is a different matter; this Sesshoumaru can handle his own problems. In any case I doubt your help in such matters would be necessary." He repressed the urge to wince when he noticed an expression of shock and sadness suddenly appear in Kagura's deep red eyes; she looked as if he had just slapped her.

"I didn't mean to say you are useless or hopeless. We are simply different people in different situations…" He trailed off, fumbling for a way to justify his behavior and words. Now that he was aware of Kagura's past occupation, and the inferior position she occupied under her father for so long, Sesshoumaru could better understand the wind sorceress's strong drive for independence.

_`What she fails to understand is that the reasons behind Naraku's actions were to control her, take advantage of her, and make her suffer while all I want is to help and protect her!'_ The dog demon thought to himself.

"In any case is it not every woman's wish to have a man by her side who would take care of her? Tell me what is really so wrong with me taking care of your problems for you when I am more than able and willing to so?" He asked exasperated by her refusal to lean on him.

"First of all I'm not like _every_ woman. Secondly _helping_ me would be okay, but taking care of everything for me, is not! See that's what I meant earlier when I said I didn't want to be dependent on you! You don't see anything wrong with this, but I do! I already feel bad enough taking your money, but you making such life altering decisions for my daughter without even consulting me is _way_ too much. It's true that I owe you a lot, and I'm very grateful for all you did for me… but being with you doesn't mean that it gives you power over me... or that you get to make decisions for Kanna… Maybe I really shouldn't have started working for you … it was surely a bad idea to begin with." Kagura let out rubbing her forehead nervously. "It unbalances our relationship. You're way up there…" She interrupted herself to raise her left arm. "And I'm down here." She added lowering her right hand; emphasizing the difference she felt existed between the two of them.

"Do not start with this again." He sighed slightly exasperated. _'We already went over this balance and working at the agency business.'_

"I'm sorry if you feel annoyed by this, but the truth is that I need to stop relying on you for everything, and maybe it starts with stopping to work for you." She stated a frown on her brows.

"What else can you do Kagura? You do have to take care of your daughter, and as things stand you do not really have the means to do so, nor any other alternatives than accepting my help." He wanted to make Kagura realize that staying by his side was the best option for Kanna and her, but as soon as the words left his lips, he once again regretted them. Knowing Kagura he was sure she was not going to take his remark well.

"Wow you think that the reason I've been with you all this time was to get money in order to take care of Kanna?"

"Do not twist my words! I never said such a thing, nor do I believe you are this kind of woman. From the moment I met you, you did insist on working in exchange for your living expanses... Kagura we already covered this issue weeks ago and do not see why we are discussing it again. The difference of money between us is of no consequence… "

"No consequence? Are you kidding me?" She interrupted him. "That's what you'd like to think, but be honest on this one, with you money is _everything_. Anyways as you admitted yourself you enjoy the power money gives you, but not as you said to please people, but rather to manipulate them." She took paused thinking back to what Sesshoumaru had said before adding. "Wait. What do you feel like you bought me and my daughter from Shin?... Oh no of course how did you put it again? Oh yes, it was to _protect_ us! Well sorry to break it to you, but everything isn't about money and I can assure you money isn't what's been keeping me here… " Trembling with rage, Kagura took the time to take a deep breath took a small pause to reorganize her thoughts

"You know you can't get power over everyone by throwing a few bills in their direction. I'm not like that bastard of Shin, and your money won't keep my by your side. I took that position at the agency because I wanted to, not because I had to in order to provide for my daughter. Besides I don't have any reasons to worry when it comes to taking care of Kanna since if you must know ever since I finished paying you back, I started saving up money. Not to mention that your agency is not the only damn place where I could get hired. Maybe I wasn't making as much money at the time I worked at Tsubaki's coffee shop as I do working for you, but I'm sure I could get a job as a waitress again and do a living out of it." The wind sorceress said trying her best to keep her anger in.

_`Does he think that without him I'm completely hopeless? No wonder he thinks he can get away with orchestrating my life. I need to prove to him that I can be my own person and that I don't need his help to get by in life. I'm with him because I want to, not because I need his help.'_ The wind sorceress thought reassessing her relationship with Sesshoumaru. Suddenly the words Sousuke Yamashita had spoken to her the night of the gala came back to her mind.

***Flashback***

"How you make me laugh Kaze. You pretend to be such a strong woman, when in truth you are always hiding behind a man. You find me repulsive, but you're no different. You use men and throw them away. How is it different from what I do?"

***End of Flashback***

_`That asshole was wrong. I am a strong woman, and I can make it without a man.'_ She repeated to herself, finding comfort in her own words .

"Maybe I should seriously get another job." She murmured more to herself than to her boyfriend.

After her words were spoken, the two of them stayed in silence for a long time, staring at each other intently.

"Kagura." Sesshoumaru suddenly broke the silence. "Why are sounding as if you are leaving?" He asked cautiously, apprehensive of what she might say,

"I don't know what to do Sesshoumaru. I really don't know. I've realized how much power you've come to have over my life… I mean you sign my weekly paychecks, you put a roof over my head, and I'm grateful for that, but I feel like you're directing my life or something, and I hate this feeling. Also the fact that you don't see where I'm coming from, that you don't see why I'm this angry... well it makes me think... maybe the two of us in a relationship is not working... maybe we need some time apart or something." Kagura said her heart heavy in her chest, and tears budding in her eyes.

"_Time apart_? I am not sure I follow what you are saying" He said surprised, a feeling of fear and dread growing inside him.

"I mean as in _a break_ 'time apart'." She elaborated.

_'I don't want to be away from Sesshoumaru, but I think it's necessary. He doesn't see eye to eye with me, and until that happens I doubt we'll be able to have a good healthy relationship. Not to mention that I now realize I need to be independent from him. From the moment he took Kanna and me out of Naraku's house, I've relied too much on him and that is a problem. Because of that he thinks that he can dictate my life... but he can't. I'm my own person and I need to prove it to him. He told me before that he thought I was strong, but now I have to prove it to him… and to myself. I have gone from Naraku's roof to Sesshoumaru's, and I haven't taken the time to find myself. I need to start fighting my own battles and stop counting on Sesshoumaru.'_ The wind sorceress thought quickly fighting the tears she could feel coming.

"What exactly do you think taking a break could possibly accomplish?" He asked, when what he really wanted to do was beg her not to leave him. He had grown extremely attached to both Kagura and her daughter, and the prospect of not having them near him filled his heart with an indescribable feeling of loss.

"I don't know. Maybe the fact that we live together made us burn stages we would have gone through had we met in different circumstances. I mean we went directly from being friends and roommates to dating..."

"You were not opposed to a relationship at the time." He interrupted the wind sorceress.

"Yes, and I'm _not_ saying us dating was… _is_ a bad idea; I really love being with you. All I'm saying is that before going further, we should reassess this all _us_ thing."

"One stupid argument and now all of a sudden you want out?" He asked as he thought _'Instead of going too fast, the problem is rather that we lacked honesty. This is a problem that can easily be resolved. There is no need for a break.'_ The anger coursing through him was so strong he was forced to clench his fists at his side to prevent himself from smashing them into the wall.

"No. I … we just ignored the signs that something wasn't right. I didn't say we're going to stop, but rather that..." She started, but was suddenly interrupted by a piercing look her boyfriend sent her.

"Make your decision Kagura. This Sesshoumaru does not do _breaks_. If you want to be with me, then your place is by my side, if not..." He trailed off, his threat hanging, staring straight into her eyes. _'She will of course realize how ludicrous her idea really is. She has feelings for me and therefore will easily forget this_ break _business.'_ He thought confidently, his fists relaxing as he realized he probably had no actual reason to fear.

"Wow you're so full of yourself. Are you saying I'm selfish or something? Do you think I enjoy this situation? I don't. And besides I'm not the only one to blame. Had you not lied to me... Do you realize it was _Shinichi_ of all people who told me the truth! Not you, my boyfriend, but Shin, my bastard of an ex." Kagura spat at him angrily, blood red eyes burning in anger like bloody coals.

"_Shinichi_?"Sesshoumaru growled, his eyes flashing red briefly. "I was not aware you were even still in contact with him." It then occurred to the dog demon that although the legal papers Kagura had acquired on his desk were a proof of payment had been made to Kanna's biological father, they did not state the reason for said payment.

_`How could I be so stupid?'_ Sesshoumaru asked himself as Naraku's earlier words played in his head. Even though he could not see Kagura as the kind of woman to do such things, her father's words still rung in his head.

***Flashback***

I wonder why you are so protective of my daughter considering she is a blatant liar and a back stabbing bitch. I should know, she had no trouble betraying me to run away with you and her spawn. I shall give you a piece of advice, do not get too attached to my dear daughter. She uses men and will have no trouble lying to you to get whatever she wants from you."

***End of Flashback***

"I haven't spoken to Shin since we broke up. The reason I even called him is that I wanted to get to the bottom of the truth." The wind sorceress said looking away from her lover.

"Why not ask _me_ for the truth? Do not tell me you would trust this bastard of Shinichi over _me_!" Even if he did not show it, the dog demon was deeply hurt. True Kagura had been dishonest about her past, but he still had hope that she trusted him, which to his dismay was apparently not the case.

"Yeah well. You haven't been honest with me otherwise you would have told me without me having to ask… Who knows what else you could be hiding from me?" The wind sorceress accused him, a frown distorting her beautiful facial features.

"It is true that you on the other hand have been a model of honesty." He snorted thinking back to Naraku's revelations, and especially to her past employment she had hid from him.

"What are you talking about? Is this about Shinichi? I told you I've had nothing to do with him in months, and anyways he has absolutely nothing to do with you and me!" The wind sorceress cried out, misunderstanding her lover's words.

"You are the one who brought him up not me." The dog demon retorted not even bothering to hide the contempt in his voice.

"And more accusations… Damn it! I better get out of here before my head fucking explodes. I'm going to leave for a little while to breathe, think and clear my head before I get really mad and say something I will regret...if I haven't already done so." She said doing her best to bottle in her anger and frustration before turning around and aiming for the door.

"Where are you going? Running away is not going to solve anything. We are not done discussing here." Once he realized she was ignoring him and was still moving forward, he added "Kagura if you go through this door, we are finished."

Her response to his words was immediate. Livid she turned around to scream at him "What the hell? You're giving me _ultimatums_ now? I am free, and you can't keep me locked inside your damn office against my will."

Without another word she continued her progression towards the door, then just as she was about to reach it, she looked over her shoulder, and noticing the cold look of fury inside Sesshoumaru's eyes she spat at him "You really are more like Naraku than I thought."

Her last accusation was the last straw for him. It caused a growl of fury to escape Sesshoumaru's lips.

"Kagura." He called after her. Not getting any response from her, he used his demonic speed, and quickly caught up with the wind sorceress, and clutched her thin arm into his palm. "Do not be ridiculous, where would you go?" He asked her worried about the fact that Naraku was out there somewhere ready to use Kagura to get some money out of him. Based on what little he knew about the spider hanyou, the dog demon was sure he would not hesitate to harm either Kagura or Kanna, or even both, and only the idea of it sickened and frightened him.

"I'll figure something out. I've known how to take care of myself before meeting you, and I am sure I can still do it now!" She struggled against the grip he had on her arm.

She was moving so much that it was getting hard for the dog demon to hold on to her. Just as he was about to release her arm, his talons caught inside the sleeve of her shirt, tearing the white material apart. As soon as he the fabric let under his fingers, he immediately let go of her. The wind sorceress hissed in surprise then looked down at the tattered remains of her shirt's sleeve.

"Kagura I..." Sesshoumaru started, unable to finish his sentence. His gaze lowered claws, a mix of shock, worry and fear coursing through him. _`Damn it. I could have hurt her badly.'_ Only thinking of the prospect made him wince.

"This was an accident. ..." The wind sorceress tried dismissing the matter quickly when she noticed the confused look on Sesshoumaru's face. "Besides you did pay for the shirt..." She tried a small note of humor, hoping to make him feel better. She frowned when she noticed he did not seem to have relaxed one bit. Little did she know that he was still contemplating what might have happened had his claws made actual contact with her soft pale skin.

"Hey Sessh look at me." Kagura called for him, shaking him out of his dark thoughts. She rested her hand on his stripped cheek, gently cradling his face. "As I said, this was an accident; I know you'd never hurt me. Besides it's nothing; it's not like I was hurt or anything. It's just fabric, and I bet I could stitch it back up…"

"I am sorry." He said in a grave voice, his eyes bearing down into hers. The wind sorceress knew that he was not only apologizing for tearing her shirt by accident, but also for the way she was feeling. A part of her knew it had never been his intention to control, manipulate, or hurt her, but she could not help but feel like this was what he had been doing to her.

"Not more than I am." Kagura sighed throwing a small glance towards the door before averting her gaze back to her boyfriend. "I am to blame for a lot too. We both said some very hurtful and horrible things, and I think we need to calm down and cool our heads... for a bit. I'm going to take Kanna, and the two of us are going to leave for a little while. This time I'm not saying that out of anger... I really do think we need a little break."

"The two of you do not have to actually leave. We could work something out. Maybe you could stop working here, and in exchange I could find you an employment somewhere else." He said for two reasons. The first being that he simply did not want to part way with them, and the other that he was worried about Naraku being out there and intent on using Kagura and Kanna to get to his bank account.

"That won't cut it." _'I guess he really doesn't get what I mean... seems like I'll have to show it to him then… and prove to him that I was serious.' "_ I told you I want to be completely independent from you, and if it means leaving... then I'm ready to do it."

"Independence is not an easy thing to have. We are all somehow bound… even I am." He said his gaze straying to the office desk his father used to occupy, and that was now his. After his dad's passing Sesshoumaru had had no other choice than to take by the agency, even if it had not been in his immediate plans. _`Would my life be different had I dared to try being independent of the Takahashi name? At the time of father's death, I was too worried about the family's future and of course the fear of losing my inheritance, and let both dictate my decisions. In a way maybe I envy the wind witch's strive for independence. From the moment I met Kagura, I knew she was a strong woman… It is possible that I have been a tad over protective, and that I should give her a chance to make her own decision…'_

"At least I could try. I never really got a chance before." Kagura sighed wondering about the strange look that had come over her boyfriend's face.

Sesshoumaru rested his hands on both of her shoulders, gently rubbing her skin with his thumbs. "I see… So... you are really leaving me…?" He then asked her, a sick feeling settling inside him, his heart feeling unusually heavy in his chest.

"No it's not like that... I mean yeah... I don't really want to, but I think it's necessary. Anyways I may be going, but it's not a goodbye. It's just a break... I promise I'll be back." She mustered a smile even if she had to work hard not to have tears leak from her eyes, which had lost some of their previous bright red hue, and were now a dull red.

Rising on the tip of her toes, Kagura placed a kiss on Sesshoumaru's lips. It took him a while to respond, but having her delicious red lips working his was a temptation too great for even his legendary self control to resist. A small moan caught in her throat when he pushed his tongue pass her lips. The two of them closed their eyes enjoying their deep kiss, trying to make it last as long as possible.

Once they broke apart, breathless, she took the time to give him a bone crushing hug, which he eagerly returned. After taking the time to commit to his mind the way her curves fit perfectly into his body, without exchanging any words, he let go of her. Afraid she might change her mind, Kagura quickly left his office.

As he saw the woman he had come to care for so much leave his side, the dog demon clenched his fists, having to physically refrain himself from following her, and dragging her back to his side, where he felt she belonged.

_`There is no need to go to such an extreme.'_ He unclenched his fist. _`The witch will be back. I will make sure of it.'_ He vowed to himself as he took his cell phone and dialed the number of his lawyer; he had an annoying hanyou to get rid of.

* * *

When Kagura heard the door of Sesshoumaru's office close behind her, panic gripped her chest once she realized how big of a mistake she might have just made. She had barely made a few steps on her own, and she was already missing the comfort and security of Sesshoumaru's arms. It took a lot of effort from her part not to turn around and go back to him. _'No. I've made a decision and I will stick to it.'_ She tried encouraging herself.

After somewhat reassuring herself, she took a deep calming breath and focused her mind on her daughter who was waiting for her in the nursery.

"Now what?" Kagura asked herself as she looked towards the empty hallway leading out of Sesshoumaru's office, and possibly his life.

**To be continued...**

A/N: I guess that's the part where I'm supposed to hide from you guys lol. You may be angry with me right now, but you've got to agree that this was necessary, no? I know Sesshoumaru came off a little arrogant, but he was mad and a little over confident...

We'll see next time how Kagura will try getting back on her feet, and how Sesshoumaru is going to deal with the situation. The next chapter will be named **Dispersal**.


	38. Dispersal

_**Chapter 38: Dispersal**_

A/N: Ah despite the sadness of the past chapter, it seems you guys are still not about to dismember me; I'm truly happy. I've been getting lots of love this week, and please keep it coming! Thanks so much again to all who put my story on their favorite and/or alert list, and last but not least my wonderful reviewers:

**EpsiLone (Congrats on leaving the 500th** **review. The number makes my head spin!)**

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25victor**

**Soojinyeh**

**Kiari 13**

**Foxfire7**

**Hellina-Bertinelli**

**Dogsfang** (Thanks for the PM)

**Kagura's number one fan** (Aw come on I'm not _that_ evil, am I? Lol)

_On _

**Vikay09** (Nice to hear from you again. I'm glad to know you're still reading and enjoying. Oh yes the break was necessary, the question is how long it will be… ^_^ Oh and I just can't see Sesshoumaru begging Kagura to stay though he did entertain the idea…)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_After somewhat reassuring herself on her decision, Kagura took a deep calming breath and focused her mind on her daughter who was waiting for her in the nursery._

"_Now what?" She asked herself as she looked towards the empty hallway leading out of Sesshoumaru's bureau, and possibly his life._

Still thinking about Kanna, Kagura started walking to the elevators. Only a few steps towards her destination, the wind sorceress entertained the idea of turning back and forgetting the whole conversation she had had with Sesshoumaru. She had barely started reflecting that she heard someone coming towards her.

"Kagura! We were just about to invite Sesshoumaru, Kanna and you to dinner to celebrate what do you… Oh my god what happened to your shirt?" None other than Kagome exclaimed as she walked up to the wind witch, Inuyasha in tow with a frown on his face.

"I've suffered enough of his attacks to know that it was torn down by Sesshoumaru's claws. You have no idea how many of my clothes he reduced to pieces when we fought while growing up." _`Did he fucking lose his mind? He could have hurt her.'_ Inuyasha remarked anger swirling in his amber eyes, his ears twitching.

"That's nothing." Kagura said managing a smile despite the pain in her heart. Her emotional pain was so great that she had completely disregarded the state of her garment, and the questions it was sure to bring forth. She did wince when Kagome took a hold of her arm to check she really was not injured.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Don't defend him. Only the lowest of men lay a hand on their women. You're lucky the bastard didn't poison you... I'll go give him a piece of my mind." Inuyasha growled walking towards the dog demon's office door.

"That's not necessary." Kagura said thinking _`What would you say if you knew I technically am not his woman anymore…Besides it's not like he did it on purpose, or that he actually hurt me…'_

When she noticed that the inu hanyou had his hand on the door knob, Kagura tried stopping him.

"Let those two be. Come with me. Just because there's no wound doesn't mean we shouldn't do anything about your shirt." The miko retorted as she took Kagura by the arm and went towards the elevators.

* * *

"Miroku stop it!" Sango exclaimed as she pushed her boyfriend's awaiting lips away from her own. As much as she wanted to indulge in a heavy make out session with the man who had managed to capture her heart, she was too professional and ethical to do it on her desk.

"Stop! We are at the office." The young woman said forcefully getting him off her.

"Aw come on. It's after hours, so it doesn't count. Besides I bet everyone went home already." He pouted disappointed to be pushed away. Despite all his efforts he had yet to manage to further his relationship with Sango. Before dating her, he had known Sango was quite an old fashioned woman, and that she wouldn't be as easily seduced as the woman he usually associated with, but always being close to her without doing anything was taking a toll on his body and mind.

_`Then again to be able to feel her in my arms, I'd be willing to wait forever.'_ Miroku thought with a fond smile on his lips.

"Say Miroku, were you serious when you said you didn't mind if I resigned from Takahashi agency?" She asked biting her lower lip.

"My lovely Sango I love you because you are a strong independent woman who goes after what she wants. If you feel like you should take over your father's business, who am I to prevent you from doing it? Besides I believe you know me well enough to realize the importance I attach to family. And in any case I just want you to be happy." He said offering a comforting smile.

"Oh Miroku." She smiled with a bright grateful smile.

"The only major inconvenient of course will be that I won't be able to have your beautiful firm and soft behind to gently caress though…" He sighed sadly.

"Then maybe you should make the most out of the time you have left." She smiled shyly, her cheeks flushed as she reached behind her to turn off the TV monitors. The head of security was too preoccupied about how her boyfriend might react to her sudden forwardness to notice the worried looking Kagome leading Kagura through the corridors of the office building.

"I'm sorry. I may not be as beautiful as the women you're used to but..." Sango started to be interrupted by a glare of her boyfriend.

"Don't be ridiculous. You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and you will look positively delectable when you will be lying naked in my bed, but not today." Miroku remarked. Even if it had cost him to speak the words, he was glad he did.

"What? Why?" Sango exclaimed ashamed. _`As I thought he's just toying with me and doesn't care all that much. Or he might not even find me that attractive._'

"Simply because tonight I'm taking you out to dinner and to party to celebrate the end of you working here. Once we're done dancing the night away I doubt you'd have enough energy to handle the `Miroku love machine'." He said concerned about Sango's unexpected decision to further their relationship. _`Usually she would have slapped the hell out of me for the remark I made earlier. Maybe she feels bad about going to work elsewhere, but that doesn't constitute a reason to offer herself to me. She should know I'd be more than willing to wait.'_

"You'd be surprised how much energy I have. After all I have demon slayer blood." She smiled regaining her confidence.

"Ah is that so? Then we shall see my dearest Sango." Miroku smiled as he took his girlfriend by the hand and the twosome left her office.

* * *

After Kagura exited his office, Sesshoumaru made a quick phone call to his lawyer. By the time he was done, the fact that Kagura had left him had had the time to sink into his mind for good. He could then not prevent himself from looking at the wooden carved door of his office, fury clear in his eyes. The truth was that he was angrier at himself than at the wind sorceress. What enraged him the most was that despite the fact that he had always prided himself in his intuition and keen eyes, he had been oblivious to Kagura's secret, and in how much pain keeping it away from him must have caused her.

_`There have been so many signs that I chose to ignore. There was the way she was so unsure when we kissed despite how she knew exactly how to please me in bed. Or how eager she always was to please me, but tended to shrink away from my caresses, as if she was afraid of knowing pleasure in my arms. I also really should have thought more about how over-reactive Kagura has always been about me spending money on her. Not to mention how she tried to use sex to show gratitude, just like when I told her about our beach trip.'_

The dog demon interrupted his train of thoughts to massage his temple, trying to ease away an incoming headache.

_`Now is not the time for one of those…'_ he thought angrily about his frequent migraines, which ever since Kagura and Kanna had entered his life had strangely receded. He then sighed as he walked towards the large bay windows of his office overlooking the darkened streets of downtown.

'_I had some suspicions that Kagura might have worked as a prostitute when living with her father. The night she was confronted by Sousuke Yamashita, the way she spoke in the limousine... she was trying to tell me, and_ I _only pushed her to lie...'_

"I have been such an idiot!" Sesshoumaru exclaimed banging his fist on the large window in front of him.

"You can say that again." Inuyasha snorted as he stepped into his older half brother's office. The dog demon had been so enthralled by his own thoughts that he had not noticed his half sibling, or felt his presence.

Before Sesshoumaru had the time to acknowledge his brother's words, Inuyasha lunged forward and delivered a crushing punch to Sesshoumaru's cheek.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Have you seen what you did to Kagura? You could have injured her badly." Inuyasha asked simmering, masking the pain he felt in his knuckles.

"I deserved that." The older half sibling remarked massaging his sore jaw.

"Damn right." Inuyasha agreed crossing his arms over his chest, repressing the urge to massage his aching knuckles. "So what happened? I was in such a hurry to whoop your ass that I didn't get to ask Kagura."

"I was trying to prevent her from leaving, but what happened was an accident. I apologized, Kagura forgave me, and in any case the matter has nothing to do with you." The dog demon said looking straight into his younger half brother's eyes, mirroring his own.

"That's all you have to say?" The hanyou retorted raising a dark eyebrow.

"Yes. I have things to do and really do not have the time to talk to you about matters that are no concern of yours." Sesshoumaru dismissed his brother once more averting his eyes to the window, where he could see from afar the outline of the Yuki Tower, where he was supposed to meet with Naraku in a matter of hours.

"What could you have to do that is more important than getting your wench back? If I were in your shoes I'd be running after her and apologizing and stuff." The younger half sibling exclaimed in shock.

_`I said some mean and unnecessary things to Kagura. Maybe I did want to hurt her… in any case I should not have taken my anger out on her. I doubt she would be willing to talk to me right now, but I can still do something for her by taking care of Naraku. Not to mention that having him feel my wrath will be deeply satisfying.'_ The dog demon thought feeling bad about what he had told Kagura. He regretted his words, but knew he could not take them back.

Sesshoumaru did not feel like giving details about his private life to his brother, but he however hesitated on telling Inuyasha about the threat Naraku posed. Once he realized that his brother's help might be needed, his decision was quickly made.

"There is a certain person out there that offers more of a threat to Kagura than I ever would." The dog demon explained, staying purposely vague.

"What's that all about? Kagura is with my wench right now, so if she has people after her and is in danger, I should know." The hanyou growled angrily.

"Kagome has nothing to worry about. Whoever is after Kagura only means to harm _her_ and make _her_ life miserable. However I will put an end to it. _Tonight_." Only thinking about how he would be able to make Naraku pay for all the anger, pain and resentment Kagura and he had gone through made a small cruel smile appear on the dog demon's lips.

"Need help?" Inuyasha asked crossing his arms over his chest.

Even if he did not show it, Sesshoumaru was quite surprised by his brother's proposition. "Call your _friend_ Kouga, he might have to interfere in case things get out of hand. Also keep an eye on Kagura, but be sure not to stay too close." Sesshoumaru ordered masking a grin. _`Just because he offered his help doesn't mean I shouldn't make the idiot pay for punching me earlier.'_

"Feh! I could deal with looking over your wench while you can't, but talking to _Kouga_? Hell no! Why do you always inflict torture on me?" Inuyasha scowled not keen on talking to his childhood _buddy_. There had been a time when Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga had been inseparable. Even after the latter had dropped out of college and joined the police academy the three had still stayed in contact. It was however true that had Inuyasha been asked, he would claim not to be a friend of Kouga. This was mostly due to the ongoing animosity and `friendly' competition between the two of them and more recently the fact that before Inuyasha had gathered enough courage to start dating his secretary, the wolf demon had tried and failed to seduce Kagome.

"You wanted to help, and this is how you may do so." Sesshoumaru reminded him, glad to have managed to find a little amusement despite the hard situation he had found himself in.

"Are things really bad enough that you'd want to have the police involved?" Inuyasha asked truly surprised by his brother's sudden request.

"They might, even though I do not wish for complications." The older half sibling retorted.

"So what happens next?" The half dog demon asked. Despite the fact that Sesshoumaru had not revealed any details of his plan to him, Inuyasha still intended to get as much information as possible. "You can count on me if you ever need more help. Then again calling the mangy wolf for you is enough of an unbearable sacrifice..."

"Little brother do not worry yourself. I have no more need of you. I however have to talk to Miroku. This Sesshoumaru needs to gather some information for tonight." The dog demon then reached over for his jacket. After putting it on, he headed for the door.

"Keh! Good to see you still care about Kagura's well being. I thought you had reverted to being an ice block..." The inu hanyou remarked, a small smile on his lips.

At his brother's words, Sesshoumaru stopped walking. He then turned his head to the side before speaking.

"Do not be mistaken. When the time comes, Kagura will be back by my side, where she belongs. I firstly need to crush an annoying spider." Not waiting for Inuyasha to answer, he continued towards the corridor.

_'It might indeed be safer for Kagura not to have Naraku know where she is. If she is close to this Sesshoumaru, he has a direct access to her. However once that bastard is dealt with she will come back to me.'_

* * *

"You really should have let me take care of your shirt. I have some change of clothes in my office, and I could have lent you one." Kagome scowled as she helped Kagura pack up her daughter's belongings.

"You shouldn't scowl like that. It makes you look like Inuyasha doing his best impression of a sulking child. You have no reason to worry about me. I can go around with only one sleeve. Besides we don't exactly share the same size." Kagura reminded her as she placed her daughter on her hip, and grabbed her large purse before heading towards the elevators.

"Wait for me!" Kagome exclaimed as she rushed after her friend.

The three of them rode the elevator in silence, and headed towards the large door of the building. Just as she stepped outside, the wind sorceress took a deep breath.

"Leaving like this feels weird." Kagura commented. _'I can't shake the feeling that I might come to regret leaving.'_ She thought worriedly as she looked over her shoulder to the large building serving as the Takahashi agency's headquarters.

"Are you changing your mind?" Kagome asked trying to prevent a note of hopefulness from appearing in her voice.

"Of course not. I need to do this. I need to be stronger. I need to work hard so I won't be a burden, or have Sesshoumaru need to take care of me forever. I need to be independent for myself, but also for Kanna. I want her to be able to see that she can make it on her own, and that she doesn't have to have a man carry her. " The wind sorceress spoke, trying to comfort herself more than answering Kagome's question.

"I can understand that... Hum Kagura, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but what will you do?"

Kagura tried, and failed, not to sound irritated when she answered Kagome's question.

"Simple. I'm going to get a job and a new place to live. Then I'll take care of Kanna and myself." The wind sorceress snapped as she marched on forward on the sidewalk.

"Becoming independent like that takes a lot of time." Kagome huffed, still trying to keep up with Kagura's fast walking pace.

"I'll do whatever it takes. I am a determined girl." Kagura retorted.

"But what about Sesshoumaru? Are you two done for good?" Kagome's question made the wind sorceress stop walking and pause before answering.

"No!... Well I hope not at least. We may have argued, but we can get over that. What I can't get over is the feeling that he doesn't see me as his equal. I want to be with him, but before that I need to get enough confidence, and I need to get his respect, so that he'll stop looking down on me and think that he can lead my life for me. I need him to stop seeing me as someone he has to take care of and rescue, but rather see me as a woman who can stand by his side, and who he can love… I think he can understand that…"

"What if he doesn't understand… what if he doesn't wait for you?" Kagome asked afraid of seeing the two of them never get back together.

"Well then that would mean he isn't worth working and fighting for." The wind sorceress said trying to mask her unhappiness. She then started walking again, Kagome following her closely.

"Mommy?" Kagura was so surprised to hear her daughter's voice that she stopped dead in her tracks.

"What is it Kanna-chan?" She asked peering down in the little girl's dark orbs. She had tried to lighten her tone as much as possible, not willing for her daughter to have to worry about their situation.

"Where is Sesshoumaru? Are we going home now?" Kanna asked surprised she was not already safely strapped into her car seat in the dog demon's luxury car.

The wind sorceress closed her eyes, breathing deeply, allowing herself time to organize her thoughts before answering. "Well… mommy and Sesshoumaru had a little… argument let's say. And…"

"Are you angry at him?" Kanna interrupted her, dark eyes shimmering in sadness. Her mother's few words had made a sense of worry an insecurity rise inside her, uncomfortable, painful, and frightening feelings she had not felt ever since they had left Naraku's house were suddenly resurfacing in her.

"Well yes…or rather I am mad at myself as well… anyways it's complicated adult stuff…" The young mother tried faking a cheerful smile for Kanna's benefit.

"So… we're not going home? Maybe if you talk you can be friends again with Sesshoumaru? Like Shippou and me?" Kanna suggested delighted by her solution. The idea of not having both Sesshoumaru and her mother was one she did not even want to waste time trying to conceive.

"It's not that simple baby… we got into a very big argument… but don't worry even if we're not going back to Sesshoumaru's apartment we'll be having lots of fun. Just the two of us… remember all the cool and great things I had promised you we'd do when we'd leave Naraku's house, well maybe we can do them all now, great, no?" Kagura smiled as she placed Kanna higher on her hip before she resumed walking. The wind sorceress did he best to ignore both the panting Kagome walking besides her, and the suddenly slumped shoulders and complete silence of her daughter.

_`It won't be the same without Sesshoumaru.'_ Kanna thought to herself as she felt tears collect in her dark eyes. She buried her face into the crook of her mother's neck, not wanting Kagura to see her state of sadness. The little girl could tell Kagura was not happy about the present situation as well, and was not sure she wanted her mother to see that she was as miserable as she felt if not more.

* * *

"So where are we going to first?" Sango asked Miroku as they headed towards his car neatly parked into his assigned parking space in the Takahashi agency's parking lot.

"Well it wouldn't be a surprise anymore if I told you, would it?" He asked amused as he relinquished the hold he had on her arm to fish his keys out of his pocket.

"I'm not very good with surprises…" Sango started, but hearing someone approaching behind them, she quickly turned around, taking a defensive stance.

"Sango you may not be an employee here anymore, but I do not wish for you to get hurt. However do not presume to get into this Sesshoumaru's way." The dog demon brushed over her presence. "Miroku you will give me all the information I demand."

"Information?..." The blue eyed human trailed off.

"You and this Sesshoumaru are going to talk about Naraku." Sesshoumaru explained as he grabbed Miroku by the collar oh his shirt, raising him from the ground, threatening to choke him.

**To be continued…**

A/N: I feel so bad for poor little Kanna, just when she had finally found a stable life it was torn to pieces… Next time Kagura discovers the meaning of friendship and Sesshoumaru starts going after Naraku. The chapter will be named **Revelations**.


	39. Revelations

_**Chapter 39: Revelations**_

A/N: Merry Christmas to all, and if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you at least enjoy the days off; I know I will :P Thank you very much to my dear readers:

**Sychotic**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25victor**

**Soojinyeh **

**Foxfire7**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

_On _

**Vikay09 **(Oh yes it was a filler. Children can be more instinctive than adults, and Kanna is no exception. Hum I might explore the Kouga/Inuyasha friendship later on)

**Zetsuii **(Lol we'll see what Sesshoumaru has in store for Miroku.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"Are you planning to keep on walking for a long time? It's late, and I'm sure Kanna is hungry." Kagome told her friend as she continued to follow Kagura.

"Nobody's forcing you to follow me, and if you must know, there's a bus stop three blocks away. From there I'll take a ride to a motel to spend the night. And then I'll feed my daughter." The wind sorceress exposed her immediate plan.

"Wait Kagura be reasonable. You don't need a motel room…"

"I am not going back to _his_ penthouse tonight." The wind sorceress cut her, turning around to give Kagome a nasty glare.

"I figured as much. No, what I meant is that you could come over to my place. We often get out of town visitors at the shrine, so we have a spare bedroom. You can use it for as long as you want… of course that'd be until you find a more permanent place of your own." The miko said purposely omitting the fact that said guest room was supposed to be paid for. '_Mama will understand and waive the fare after I talk to her.'_

"Fine okay. I'll stay at your place until I get a job." The wind sorceress sighed in defeat.

"Great! So first I guess we have to at least stop by Sesshoumaru's penthouse to grab your clothes and stuff, right?" Kagome said a pleased smile on her lips.

"Yeah…" Kagura said not enchanted at the prospect of it.

"If it'd make things easier on you, I can go there and pack your stuff for you." The human quickly suggested when she noticed Kagura's uneasiness.

"No thanks, but I can do it… I have to do it..." The wind witch then paused and closed her eyes before heaving a sigh. "Say Kagome, why are you being so nice to me?" The wind sorceress wondered.

"Well Kagura I didn't consider you a friend simply because we worked together, or because you are... were… are seeing my boyfriend's brother, but rather because I really like you. I think you're a great person. A great friend." The miko smiled warmly.

"A friend. Never had many of those. Anyways thanks for being there for me."

"Don't mention it. It's what friends are for." Kagome beamed.

"Don't get mushy on me now. Come on let's go before I lose my nerve or something. You are right it's late and almost Kanna's bed time." Kagura observed looking down at her sleepy daughter.

"My car's not parked very far, let's go." Kagome indicated as the two women turned around and walked towards the agency's parking structure.

* * *

"_So where are we going to first?" Sango asked Miroku as they headed towards his car. _

_ "Well it wouldn't be a surprise anymore if I told you, would it?" He asked amused as he relinquished the hold he had on her arm to fish his keys out of his pocket._

_"I'm not very good with surprises…" Sango started, but hearing someone approaching behind them, she quickly turned around, taking a defensive stance._

_ "You may not be an employee here anymore, but I do not wish for you to get hurt. However do not presume to get into this Sesshoumaru's way." The dog demon brushed over Sango's presence. "Miroku you will give me all the information I demand."_

_ "Information?..." The blue eyed human trailed off._

_ "You and this Sesshoumaru are going to talk about Naraku." Sesshoumaru explained as he grabbed Miroku by the collar oh his shirt, raising him from the ground, threatening to choke him._

"Sesshoumaru-sama you are hurting him." Sango cried out, barely refraining herself from taking a hold of the stripped clawed hand. As much as she wanted to help her boyfriend, she was aware that despite her strength she would never be able to get Sesshoumaru off Miroku.

"Sango… it's okay. No need… to get involved." Miroku choked out. "I knew… this day would come... and… I am fully prepared… I'll tell you all you want to know Sesshoumaru,... so can you please put me down." As soon as Miroku spoke, his best friend's older brother relinquished his hold on his neck.

After taking a few sweet breaths, Miroku massaged his sore neck. "First of all I apologize for not telling you anything sooner… I just figured it all happened in the past, and should remain in the there and…"

"Miroku. As you know I have little patience." Sesshoumaru interrupted him. His golden gaze trailed down to his long and dangerous claws in warning.

"Yes of course. As I guess you've found out, Naraku runs a high end brothel."

"Where. And how did you come to know about it?" Sesshoumaru asked reminding himself not to take out his anger on Miroku as Naraku was the one to blame for Kagura's suffering, and his own.

"Well I had an acquaintance who owed me a lot of money after a poker game. He was short on cash, and Naraku owed him a favor, so instead he paid me a date with… Kaze. It was a long time ago, and I assure you nothing happened between the two of us. We went to dinner, but we didn't get along so good, so the evening was cut short. That was all!" Miroku tried to make sure Sesshoumaru realized he had never laid his hand on Kagura. He did purposely avoid mentioning that he had tried to seduce her, and that it had resulted in him receiving a mean punch.

"Did you ever come in contact with Naraku?" Sesshoumaru asked then.

"No. His operation is much buried underground. Not anyone gets to meet him, or talk to him. From what I heard he uses representatives and minions because he is afraid of ever getting found out. His fear is borderline paranoia, so he almost never leaves his headquarters, wherever they may be located. I'm sorry I can't be of more help, and I'm sorry for the prank and everything…" The young human spoke awaiting Sesshoumaru's reaction.

It did not take long to come in the form of a hard punch laid on Miroku's face. The force of the blow knocked him off his feet, and he ended up sprawled on the ground. _'He may not be Naraku, but it still felt great.' _The dog demon thought to himself, not feeling sorry about the bruise on his friend's cheek.

"You should have told me." Were the last words Sesshoumaru spoke to Miroku before turning around and leaving the human couple behind.

"Miroku are you okay?" Sango asked worried as she looked at his bloodied lip and bruised cheek.

"He he he believe it or not, but all the blows you've been giving me have managed to actually make me pretty resistant to injuries." He answered with a grin as he got to his feet with her help.

"Hey what was that about brothels and gambling?" Sango asked trying not to sound as disappointed and disenchanted as she felt. _'I knew Miroku was not the holiest of men, but still I didn't know he was involved in such horrible things…'_

"I'll be honest with you Sango. I haven't lead the best or most honest life possible, but that was before. Now that I'm with you, I've stopped that. I don't need to get involved in dirty business to get a thrill because _you_ are my thrill. Just being next to you is enough to make my heart race even more than winning a bet on a race, drinking some expensive liquor, or having a good hand at poker. What I'm trying to say is that I'm a changed man and all that is because of the love I have for you. I love you."

"Miroku…" Sango started shocked by his sudden revelation. She had never seen his playful purple eyes look as serious as now.

"I understand if knowing about my past makes you uncomfortable, and that you decide to give up on us. I really won't blame you for it. Do know that I regret most of the things I did." He said letting out a disappointed sigh.

"I love you too. Despite your flaws, your shabby past, and your lecherous behavior, I love you. And that's what matters. You said you changed, and I believe you" Sango smiled shyly at him.

"Oh my sweet Sango. I love you so much." He smiled back at her, forcing his hands to remain far away from her appealing curves. "Now who's ready for a nice quiet dinner at home? I'll do the cooking and the dishes."

"I sure am." His girlfriend answered as she opened the passenger door to his car.

* * *

"We better make it quick." Kagome observed with an uncomfortable smile as she stepped into her ex boss's penthouse. It was the first time she actually got to see his place from up close, but she had no wish of staying there too long. She was after all not at all looking forward to the prospect of Sesshoumaru walking in on them packing up Kagura and Kanna's stuff.

_'If he's as possessive as Inuyasha is, things could turn really ugly.'_ The young priestess thought worriedly.

"Kanna and I don't have a lot of stuff, so it shouldn't take that much time anyway." The wind sorceress answered, her eyes looking around the place she had come to think of as home.

"Hey Kanna-chan. I want you to pack up all your favorite toys that you want to bring with you." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Kagura realized how she had told her daughter to do the same when they had left Naraku's house.

_'This time things are different however. I am actually going to miss this place a lot.' _ Kagura sighed feeling her heavy heart sink a little more in her chest.

"So what can I help you with?" Kagome asked as she walked into the living room, taking her time to look around.

"You could go into the guest room and start packing my clothes. Kanna's are in the bottom drawer." The wind sorceress said. She handed to her daughter a bag and headed towards the kitchen.

"And what are you going to do?"

"I just have a little project to work on in the kitchen, that's all." Not even waiting for Kagome to ask her more, Kagura headed for the other room. "I started on it this morning, and I just want to finish it." Was all the explanation she gave.

* * *

Sesshoumaru with a small smile on his lips looked down once more to the email his lawyer had sent him. It had all the information the dog demon wanted and was the first step towards the completion of his plan.

He stood up from behind his desk and after putting on his jacket checked the time on his wrist watch. He sighed, trepidation running through him; he had only four hours until his meeting with Naraku. He thought about going home, but did not want to be in his penthouse without Kagura and Kanna, at least not before he had at least taken care of the threat Naraku posed.

_'How did everything turn out to be such a mess?'_ He wondered with a sigh as he took off his jacket, and sat back behind his desk and forced himself to pull out a blank piece of paper to start working on a design for his next advertisement campaign, hoping it would occupy his mind enough not to think about Kagura, Kanna and Naraku.

* * *

"I couldn't find a way to pack up all your clothes in the duffel bag, so what do you want to do?" Kagome asked as she popped her head inside the kitchen. "Are you cooking?!"

"Yeah. Kanna hasn't had dinner yet and it's pretty late." Kagura explained not looking away from her vegetables quickly cooking on the stove. "I'm almost done, I'll come help in just a few."

After making her daughter a plate, the wind sorceress went in the living room. She placed Kanna in her high chair, her dinner in front of her, and went to help Kagome pack her things.

Considering the amount of things Kagura had bought since she had moved into Sesshoumaru's penthouse, it had taken the wind witch more time than anticipated to have everything packed and ready to be moved. She decided to focus solely on getting her things ready, or she knew she would think about her relationship with Sesshoumaru, which in turn would hurt her and make her worry about her decision.

Once she was finished putting away her stuff, the wind sorceress headed back into the living room. She was surprised to see that her daughter's plate was mostly full; a stark difference to the great appetite Kanna had showed ever since they had moved into Sesshoumaru's penthouse.

"You barely ate anything."

"I am not hungry." To emphasize her point, Kanna pushed away her plate.

Heaving a sigh, Kagura picked up the little girl and hugged her close to her chest. As the crimson eyes looked towards the carpet she noticed that Kanna's mirror and other toys were still lying around. "You haven't even packed your toys yet?! Why not Kanna-chan?" Kagura asked her daughter, staring in her clouded dark eyes.

"I don't want to." Kanna spoke softly.

Intrigued by her daughter's sudden strange behavior, Kagura asked the toddler in her arms "What don't you want to do?"

"I want to stay here." The young void youkai said tears brimming in her eyes. "I want to be with mommy _and_ Sesshoumaru."

"No baby don't cry. I already told you, didn't I? It's okay, we're going to be okay. Think of it like just a game. It's a new adventure you know... it's going to be so much fun for the two of us." Kagura said tying not very successfully to muster a little bit of enthusiasm.

"I don't like this game, it's not fun at all. I don't want to play." Kanna exclaimed tears falling freely from her eyes now.

"Please baby don't do this to me now." She lamented afraid of having Sesshoumaru walk in on them at any moment. "Kanna listen to me. We are not staying here anymore. You are going to pack your things, and we will leave. I know you're upset, and I'm sorry, but you don't have a choice. So now get to work, or your toys are staying behind." Even though she hated seeing her daughter cry like this, or talk to her little girl this way, the wind sorceress knew that some firmness would be needed.

"Okay." Kanna agreed reluctantly, trying to control her sniffling.

"Come on." She gently cooed wiping her daughter's tears before placing the toddler on the ground. With a heavier heart, Kagura looked at Kanna packing her toys before Kagome calling for her made her go back to the guest bedroom her daughter used to occupy.

After waiting for her mother to leave, Kanna took a hold of one of her treasures and quickly hid it under one of the pillows of the living room sofa.

"Kuma-chan stay here and watch over Sesshoumaru for me." She spoke softly to her favorite plush toy. Kanna loved her white teddy bear, and parting ways with it broke her heart, but she loved Sesshoumaru even more, and the idea of a part of her being with him pleased her. Not to mention that she felt that without her and her mother being here to look over him, he would need Kuma-chan's protection.

"Are you done baby?" Kagura asked as she walked back into the living room.

"Yes." The toddler announced showing her full bag to her mother. Her dark eyes did stray to the small bulge Kuma-chan formed under the cushion she had hid it under. The little girl only hoped her mother would not notice it and scold her.

"Good job Kanna-chan." Kagura forced a warm smile. She then headed towards the dining room table.

"Thanks for everything, but from now on I want to stand on my own." The wind sorceress whispered, a sad smile on her lips as she reached into her pocket for her wallet from which she extracted the company credit card Sesshoumaru had given her so long ago.

The wind sorceress then took Kanna in her arms along with the toddler's toy bag and her purse.

"Ready to go?" Kagome asked, Kagura's big backpack hoisted on her shoulder.

Although her first instinct was to answer in the negative, Kagura took one last look around the place that had been her home and safe place for the past months and answered "Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

Naraku sloshed his expensive caramel colored brandy inside his sniffer, gently humming a victorious tune under his breath.

_'Things are going well beyond my expectations.' _He mused to himself, his red eyes brightening when he spotted Sesshoumaru walking towards him.

"Good evening Mr. Takahashi. Don't you find the view breathtaking from up here?" Naraku asked pointing towards the large window behind him. "Would you care for a drink? I recommend the brandy. This upstanding establishment really knows what good liquor is made of. Then again feel free to order anything you like..."

The dog demon took a deep calming breath before leveling the spider hanyou with a glare full of hatred. Even if he wished to beat Naraku to a pulp, he refrained himself.

"This Sesshoumaru has no time for pleasantries." He stated ignoring Naraku's invitation to sit down in the form of an extended hand. He after all did not wish to spend more time than necessary in the half demon's presence…

"I see, but you are attracting more attention than necessary, After all our little transaction should be as inconspicuous as possible." Naraku commented sipping a little brandy.

Grinding his teeth, the dog demon gave in and sat down opposite the hanyou. When he saw the pretty waitress walking towards him, Sesshoumaru shook his head indicating her he had no intention to order anything. His eyes then fell back on the man opposite him.

"Now in that case Sesshoumaru-sama, I believe it is time for some business." Naraku said a smirk on his lips.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Things are moving along. The next chapter will be named **The price to pay** considering that it's the holidays, I won't post it next week, but the following week. In case you want to read something in the meantime, please check out my newly posted story The step daughter, here's the summary:

**AU **_Kagura was sure she would easily charm and befriend the protective teenage daughter of her boyfriend Sesshoumaru. If only she knew… Sessh/Kagura fanfic rated M for language and lime._


	40. The price to pay

_**Chapter 40: The price to pay**_

A/N: Wow 40 chapters already, and this one's a long one. Happy new year to all!!! Hopefully it will be a good one, and that you'll manage to fulfill your resolutions… I already broke one of mine, but I'll try to do better with the others :P

Thank you to my amazing reviewers:

**Sychotic**

**Little25victor**

**Soojinyeh **

**Foxfire7**

**Kiari 13**

**Hellina-Bertinelli**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**90s gurl **(Nice to hear from you again. Ah a reconciliation? Hum we'll see about that lol)

_On _

**Zetsuii **(Ah no need to wonder much longer about the meeting of Sesshy and Naraku. Here it is!)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

_Grinding his teeth, the Sesshoumaru gave in and sat down opposite Naraku. When he saw the pretty waitress walking towards him, the dog demon shook his head indicating her he had no intention to order anything. His eyes then fell back on the man opposite him._

___"Now in that case Sesshoumaru-sama, I believe it is time for some business." Naraku said, a smirk on his lips._

The hanyou sipped some of his expensive liquor as his eyes scanned the stiff dog demon sitting across from him.

"I am true to my word. Here is what you want." The half spider demon took from inside his pocket a small black leather bound notebook and placed it on the table.

Sesshoumaru's golden eyes thinned when he locked them on the offending notebook, it was the only indication of his great anger. Remembering its content, he took a deep breath and repressed a growl from escaping his throat.

_'As I thought the disgusting stench is the same. He is the one who has been sending these ridiculous letters. I am also willing to bet that he has been the one following Kagura. Inuyasha better keep a close eye on her and Kanna as I instructed him to do.'_

Despite the fact that he did not let his expression betray his feelings, Sesshoumaru was extremely worried about Kagura and Kanna. Considering the situation he would have wanted them to stay locked inside his safe penthouse, but since the wind sorceress had decided to leave him, there was nothing he could do.

"Is something the matter? You seem upset my dear son in law. Is something the matter with Kagura or Kanna?" Naraku asked faking concern, a smirk on his lips. By his words he intended to unnerve Sesshoumaru as much as possible, seeing the cold and composed dog demon get unnerved was just too much fun for him.

"Do not dare call me like this." Sesshoumaru retorted.

"Ah my apologies Sesshoumaru-sama. I did not mean to offend you in anyway. It is just that I consider you family… I wanted to send a letter to both my dear daughter and my adorable granddaughter, and inquire about their well being, but I was not sure if that would be much appreciated. I trust you are taking good care of them." Naraku asked before downing more of his drink.

"Do not speak of either of them." Sesshoumaru warned him.

"No time for chit chat huh? Then since you also show no desire of talking about our shared relatives, why don't we start talking business. Now Sesshoumaru-sama, the lack of bulge in your expensive designer suit makes me think that you do not have the money I asked for. Although I do refuse to come to a hasty conclusion, I am looking forward to your excuse. I am after all sure you would want to put your fingers on this." Naraku remarked on a mocking tone, his fingers tapping the leather covering of his 'little black book,' which was still resting on the pristine cloth covering the table between them.

"You are not mistaken. I indeed have not brought the money."

"Ah so you were unable to meet the deadline. I am disappointed. I was after all convinced that you Sesshoumaru-sama of all people would be able to accomplish such a little thing." Naraku answered shaking his head in disapproval.

"You are once more mistaken. I would easily have been able to gather the money you asked for, but rather _refused_ to do it." Sesshoumaru corrected.

"Is that so? And I thought that you cared enough for Kagura and Kanna to sacrifice a million dollars for them. Not to mention that it might cause problems for your agency. As I am sure I mentioned before, Youkai Daily would be delighted to get some information on your link to Kagura, or rather the prostitute _Kaze_. This surely would make for a great article; having the private life of one of the city's most prominent man. Sesshoumaru Takahashi involved with a high end prostitute. Maybe I could even hint to the fact that Kagura is not the only one of my girl's you were involved with."

"You are mistaken on this point as well. It is rather your 'business' that is going to encounter some trouble." Sesshoumaru said the cruel smile he had been repressing all this time finally finding a way on his lips.

"What do you mean?" Naraku asked without blinking. Despite the threatening tone in the dog demon's voice, the spider demon was not worried at all, even actually a little amused.

"Shall you decide to continue opposing this Sesshoumaru, you will soon find it hard to conduct your 'business'. Very hard indeed." Sesshoumaru smirked. To add to his enigmatic explanation the dog demon fished into his pocket for a small black object.

Naraku's eyes widened in surprise when he noticed that the object now in his 'opponent's' clawed hand was none other than a tape recorder.

Not leaving the half demon a chance to speak, Sesshoumaru rewinded the tape slightly then pressed play. Out of the recorder came Naraku's words from earlier.

"**...Youkai Daily would be delighted to get some information on your link to Kagura. This surely would make for a great article; having the private life of one of the city's most prominent man. Sesshoumaru Takahashi involved with a high end prostitute..."**

"You..." Naraku started, his red eyes glowing with anger and hatred. He suddenly could feel the balance of power change between them change, and the idea of being beaten at his own blackmailing game angered him beyond words.

"It appears this Sesshoumaru has forgotten to mention that our conversation was being recorded. My apologies." He smiled lightly. Seeing Naraku's face contorted with pure hatred and made his awful day seem a little bit brighter.

"Maybe we can come to an understanding. What exactly do you want from me Sesshoumaru-sama?" Naraku asked doing his best to keep his anger in. He had no desire to bargain with Sesshoumaru, but rather intended to gain some time while he thought of a new, better plan.

"For starters I will take your book." The dog demon answered at the same time that he with a quick move of his hand took the small notebook resting on the table.

"I see. Then I guess that we are done here." The spider half demon said quickly getting to his feet. The apparent loss of his little black book did not affect him that much. He knew all of his clients' names by heart, and was _very _close to his girls.

"Not quite Naraku. Sit back down; remember that our business is supposed to stay as inconspicuous as possible." Sesshoumaru said echoing the words Naraku had told him only a few minutes earlier. Reluctantly, and suppressing an annoyed groan, the dark hanyou complied.

"You may be wondering about what I intend to do with this recording, well it is quite simple. I want you to stay away from Kagura and Kanna. If you ever come close to them, or talk to them, I will destroy you. Do you see the man with the long ponytail sitting at the bar?... The wolf demon." Sesshoumaru asked pointing over his shoulder to a young man sitting with a beer in front of him.

"His name is Kouga Ookami. _Lieutenant_ Ookami. He is not only a good friend of mine, but also an esteemed member of the city's police forces. He also happens to be married to the daughter of the police commissioner. In case you do not believe me, you can research more on him later on."

The dog demon paused and after taking the time to carefully place back the tape recorder and notebook inside his pocket added. "In the event that you betray our understanding, and would be foolish to go against this Sesshoumaru's orders, the tape I have just made you listen to will end up on the desk of my friend Kouga, as well as the little black book containing all the names of your clients." He said gently tapping the pocket where he had hidden the said notebook.

"This would result in you being arrested for your illegal activities..." Sesshoumaru continued.

"These accusations will never stick. I too have friends in high places." Naraku interrupted him.

"Is that so?" Sesshoumaru smirked. "Well it seems this Sesshoumaru has failed to add that I also have another option. I was on the phone with my lawyer a few hours ago, and he assured me that with a tape recording I would have enough evidence to sue you for attempted extortion, which would also result in your arrest. Now pray tell, what would all your rich and famous clients think when they will see your face plastered over all the newspapers of the country. Or when they will see their names printed in Youkai Daily along with the accusation of being frequent visitors of your brothel? Even if you manage to have the charges against you dropped, which I doubt, you would still lose your business. That I would make sure of ..." After explaining the depths of the plan he had come up with, Sesshoumaru leaned back in his chair, a smile on his lips, basking in his complete victory.

To the inu youkai's surprise, Naraku suddenly started clapping. "Congratulations Mr. Takahashi, it seems that I may have underestimated you. For the life of me I really do not see why you are giving yourself so much trouble for my slut of a daughter..."

"Do not call her names." Sesshoumaru growled.

"Oh but it is what Kagura is. A _back stabbing_ _slut_, who was lucky enough to meet you. I however really do not see why you are working so hard to protect her. It certainly must be a knight in shining armor complex. Or maybe you simply enjoy playing house. Do you like pretending to be their protector? Taking care of a woman who has nothing to do with you? Caring for a kid that is not yours? Both Kagura and Kanna are my daughters, _mine_, not yours. Sure you can try to be the perfect man for them, and protect and provide for them, but _I _am their family and will always be." Naraku grinned as he looked at an expression of pure hatred burn stronger in Sesshoumaru's eyes.

What hurt the dog demon the most was the fact that Naraku's words hit right where it hurt. _'It is true that for being able to leave my side like this Kagura may not have felt as deeply for me as I had first thought, but it does not change my vow to do my best to protect her and her daughter.'_

"You are quite lucky we are in a public space, or I would make you swallow back every disrespectful word you have said about Kagura. Now this Sesshoumaru has had enough of you Naraku. Neither Kagura nor Kanna belong to you. You know nothing about them if not only how to hurt them."

_'There is no way he could ever know that Kanna never goes to bed before admiring her pictures, or how she enjoys playing with her food. Nor could he ever know how curious she is, and the way her eyes shine with happiness when she finds out something new. And Kagura... for him to torture and abuse her in such horrible ways Naraku must have never realized how wonderful she is.'_

"Seeing how she has you fight her battles, it seems to me that maybe Kagura has learned more from me than I thought, notably how to use people. Good for her." Naraku chuckled. "Fine Sesshoumaru-sama, I will not get involved with Kagura anymore, nor will I come in contact with you. You beat me and I admit defeat." The dog demon was not reassured one bit by the smile etched on Naraku's face. He simply could not shake the feeling that despite his apparent surrender the spider demon had a few more tricks up his sleeve.

_'He can try whatever he wants; I will always be able to outsmart him. Kagura and Kanna have nothing to worry about as long as I will be here to protect them.'_ Sesshoumaru thought confidently, unconcerned about the fact that the wind sorceress and he had taken a break, and that she had left him.

Without another word, the spider half demon stood up and left, not bothering to leave some money behind to pay for his drinks. Even as he walked towards the door, Sesshoumaru's smoldering amber eyes never left him.

Ignoring the dog demon, as he exited the bar, Naraku thought to himself _'This is far from over. For opposing me like this, I will make sure to destroy you Sesshoumaru Takahashi. I will take down Kagura as well for thinking that she would be able to get away from me. Ku ku ku I believe it is now time to add one last pawn on my chessboard.' _

Sesshoumaru sighed in relief after he saw Naraku leave. Things had gone on better than he had first expected. Not that he had not been confident he would be able to thwart Naraku's plan. After all Sesshoumaru was not one to give into any type of blackmail.

A confident smile on his lips, he stood up and fished his wallet to leave a few bills on the table. It was enough to cover Naraku's drinks and leave a generous tip to their beautiful waitress. Once he was done Sesshoumaru headed towards the bar where Kouga was still seated.

"Ah there you are. When Inuyasha said you wanted to have a drink with me, I was quite stunned. I'm surprised you wanted to meet here and so late. Anyways what's this all about?" The wolf demon asked before taking a gulp of his bottled beer. When he had walked into the bar, Sesshoumaru had paid great attention not to let his brother's friend see him. Even during his power play with Naraku he had tried hard not to have Kouga get a hold of his scent.

_'It is a good thing the senses of modern demons are not as sharp as they used to be.' _Sesshoumaru thought to himself fully knowing that one of Kouga's wolf demon ancestors would have had no trouble detecting his scent and powerful demonic aura despite the smells of cigar smoke, alcohol, and sweaty bodies of some of the lusty men who were eagerly entertaining some much younger and prettier women at a table not far from the two demons.

"My apologies for being late." The dog demon said, not even feeling bad for using one of his brother's best friends. "Do not worry about it Kouga. Could we postpone our drink to later on? My secretary just called me, and it seems that I have to go back to the office."

"Yeah fine Mr. Workaholic. We can catch up some other day, though I don't really see why dog shit's big brother would want to talk to me. Ever since we were kids you always did your best to ignore Miroku, Inuyasha and me. Oh well I shouldn't complain too much. You at least gave me an excuse to be out of the house for an hour. Ever since Ayame became pregnant she is more clingy than ever. Considering that her old man is my boss it's not like I can stay at the office after hours to get some rest like any other man... "Kouga complained even if his deep blue eyes shinned in happiness. Despite the fact that he liked complaining about his mate, everyone could tell that Kouga deeply loved Ayame. That of course did not help Inuyasha from feeling threatened by his good friend considering that before he had started dating his secretary Kagome, the wolf demon had a crush on her.

"I will pay for your drink to thank you for your presence." The dog demon said giving the bartender a large bill

"Considering my salary I sure as hell am not going to complain. Then 'til next time!" Kouga said as he too left the dark bar, eager to join his wife home. He left behind an envious and thoughtful Sesshoumaru, who too wished he had someone to go home to.

Now that he had taken care of Naraku, the silver haired youkai realized that he now had no more thoughts to distract him from the fact that Kagura had left him. Even though she had promised to come back, she had not given him any time frame, which worried him. Sighing he too left the bar and decided to go back to his empty penthouse.

* * *

The wind sorceress sighed deeply, as much as she tried she could not help but think about Sesshoumaru. They had only parted a few hours ago and she missed him, his deep voice, his comforting arms, his warm kisses... She groaned at her line of thought. Her crimson eyes then traveled from the window of Kagome's car to the rear view mirror. Kagura frowned when she noticed the closed off expression on Kanna's face. The little girl was safely strapped into her car seat, her face looking as expressionless as it used before they moved in with Sesshoumaru.

_'I'm such an idiot. I had always promised I'd put Kanna first, but this time I didn't. I made her suffer because of MY love life. Ugh hopefully she'll be okay... I'll try not to make her suffer anymore.'_

"We're here!" Kagome exclaimed as she finished parking her car, waking Kagura out of her thoughts.

"Great, no Kanna-chan?" The wind sorceress tried to fake some enthusiasm for her daughter's sake.

The little girl did not answer, but her dark eyes shifted to the car's window, a small flicker of interest in them. She still did not speak a word when her mother took her out of the car seat, and that together they went up the long stairs leading towards the shrine grounds.

"Ha now you'll experience how I manage to keep tone legs. Who needs a gym membership when you have to go up and down those stairs everyday?!" Kagome huffed as she dragged Kagura's suitcase up the stone steps. The wind sorceress followed her in silence, tightening her hold on her daughter.

The two young women walked up the rest of the flight of stairs in silence. As soon as they reached the top, Kagura's eyes opened wide in surprise. When Kagome had told her she lived in an ancient shrine, the wind sorceress had not expected it to look so large.

"You've got a big place." The demoness said in appreciation.

"Not really. It's late, and the darkness makes it look differently. It's bigger on the outside. Besides the building over there" Kagome let go of Kagura's suitcase to point to her left. "It's a well house, and next to it is a storage room."

"I see..." Kagura started, but was interrupted by a happy shout.

"Oh they are here! Here Souta go help your sister." An older brown haired woman standing on the porch said as she nudged a long limbed and slightly awkward looking teenager in front of her.

"Here give it to me sis'." Souta exclaimed as he pried Kagura's heavy bag from his sister's hand.

"Oh welcome to our home, please come in. It may be early summer, but the nights are still quite chilly." Mrs. Higurashi said with a warm smile as she walked towards Kagura. "She is such a beautiful child." She then exclaimed her warm brown eyes resting on Kanna. The little girl had buried her face into her mother's creamy white neck, only observing the new people in front of her with one half opened eye.

"Though she seems a little shy." Kagome's mother, Hana added thoughtfully.

"That's because you're letting the poor kid outside to freeze. Everyone inside." The old man who had just exited the house said.

"Oh ji-chan is right. Come inside Kagura." Without letting the wind witch answer, Mrs. Higurashi took her hand and led her inside the inviting warmth of the shrine.

"What the hell did I get myself into?" Kagura muttered to herself as she looked back to Kagome's grinning face before being shoved inside the Higurashi house. _'And what did I put Kanna into?'_ She thought looking back at the frightened child in her arms. _'I hope Kanna won't have to pay for my life decisions.'_

* * *

Despite how reticent he was to do so, the dog demon finally got back home to his penthouse. He sighed deeply when he opened the door and was greeted by silence and emptiness. A few months ago this would not have been an uncommon occurrence, but now that he had gotten used to having Kagura and Kanna with him all the time, being alone felt strange to him.

Eager to distract his mind, Sesshoumaru walked past the living room where the three of them had spent such pleasant times, not even daring to lay his golden gaze on the remains of Kanna's now mostly empty playpen. Sesshoumaru flinched when he passed by his dining table and noticed that Kagura had left behind the company credit card he had given her. He then headed for the kitchen and sad smile appeared on his lips when he noticed that the wind sorceress had taken the time to clean it as well as fold and put away Kanna's high chair. What really struck Sesshoumaru was when he saw that Kagura had left behind a dinner plate for him.

_'I guess she took the time to try out that Italian recipe she wanted to make tonight. She had after all let the meat marinate for the whole day...'_ He smiled to himself remembering Kagura's eagerness at trying out the recipe she had seen on television a few days before.

His smile turned sour when he realized that it had been a meal they intended to have together, the three of them, just like a family. Sighing, he decided to skip dinner, but placed the carefully wrapped plate in the fridge, which contrary to months before was now filled with leftovers courtesy of the wind sorceress. He then went directly to his bedroom. He immediately regretted his decision because the air in the room was saturated with Kagura's scent combined with his; especially the heady scent of their lovemaking. Repressing a groan, and cursing his sensitive nose, the dog demon walked over to his windows and opened it as wide as possible.

While waiting for fresh night air to circulate enough in his room to chase away the now unwelcomed scent, Sesshoumaru went back in the living room. He settled on the couch and was surprised when he felt an odd shaped bump under him. Sesshoumaru was even more shocked to realize that the bump was none other than Kuma-chan the white teddy bear he had given Kanna weeks ago, and that the little girl was inseparable from.

_'Has Kanna too decided she would be better off without me?' _He wondered with a frown as he placed Kuma-chan on the coffee table of his living room. He then lay back on his expensive couch, taking a hold of the warm wool material thrown over his leather couch. After kicking off his shoes and getting rid of his jacket he settled in, covering his long body with the blanket Kagura had knitted for him. A slight smile appeared on his lips when he recalled that after seeing him with it, with sparkling dark eyes, Kanna had enthusiastically exclaimed that with the white blanket thrown over his shoulder Sesshoumaru reminded her of an ancient dog demon and his mokomoko fur, just like the images she had admired in Kagome's book during their beach trip.

_'No Kanna wouldn't reject me; just like Kagura she will too want to come back… or I hope they will.' _The dog demon thought confidently, closing his amber eyes, and letting sleep take him.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Sesshoumaru got rid of Naraku, or did he? Kagura is moving on in her life, and when will she go back to Sesshoumaru? Stay tuned to see! The next chapter will be named **New horizons**. In which we'll see how our two fave demons go on with their lives.

Once again if you haven't done so, please check out my story The step daughter.

Here's the summary: **AU **Kagura was sure she would easily charm and befriend the protective teenage daughter of her boyfriend Sesshoumaru. If only she knew… Sessh/Kagura fanfic rated M for language and lime.


	41. New horizons

_**Chapter 41: New horizons**_

A/N: Not much to say today… I just hope you'll enjoy the chapter.

Thank you to my amazing reviewers:

**Sychotic**

**Soojinyeh **

**Kiari 13**

**Hellina-Bertinelli**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**90s gurl **(Thanks, glad you liked it)

Once again thank you to **Dogsfang** for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(Oh Naraku is _far_ from being down with his plans and yes poor Sesshy does deserve a big hug)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"Kagura dear would you like some help?" Mrs. Higurashi asked her daughter's friend who was actively working on making breakfast for the whole household. As a woman who prided herself in having always managed to keep the shrine that had been in her late husband's family for centuries in order, and a woman who knew how to treat her guests, Mrs. Hana Higurashi had to restrain herself from jumping in to help in the meal's preparation.

"No I'm good." The wind sorceress smiled pushing a lock of her long dark hair out of her face; she was just getting used to wearing her hair unbound, and it still gave her some trouble. "You gave me and my daughter a roof to sleep under, so the least I could do is cook breakfast." The wind sorceress added with a smile, not looking up from the omelet rolls she was making.

"Let her be. At least some young girls today still know how to cook a proper meal." Kagome's grandfather snorted as he hungrily eyed the simmering miso soup on the stove. He did his best to suppress a smile from his lips. Ever since he had let Kagura know he enjoyed soup for breakfast, she had always made sure to have some on the menu for him.

"At least she does not use those dreadful instant foods you only need do add boiling water to. In my days every young woman knew how to cook..." He added wistfully, his large eyes resting on his granddaughter.

"Well I'm sorry for not living up to your expectations of what a perfect young woman is Ji-chan..." Kagome remarked with a pout as she looked down to Kanna, who was getting acquainted with her family cat Buyo. _'At least she isn't trying to dismember him.'_ She thought recalling the way Inuyasha had traumatized Buyo at their first meeting.

"Don't worry Kags, grandpa is always getting on my case about not being a fitting successor to take care of the shrine. All that because I decided to major in business and minor in religious studies. When really he should be glad I'm even going to college..." Souta chuckled as he picked up an apple and eagerly bit into it.

"Pfft you should be studying about how to respect your elders!" Matsu Higurashi retorted feigning outrage, even if everyone could see the amused glint in his eyes. He was after all proud of both of his son's children, and was extremely relieved Souta had accepted to take the shrine back.

"Oh grandfather enough for now. Please go sit down at the table, breakfast will be served soon. Now Souta instead of spoiling your appetite, why don't you set up the table? Kagome could help you as well." Hana spoke with her soft voice. As soft as she may sound, no one ever dared go against Mrs. Higurashi's instructions.

Souta and Kagome quickly left the kitchen to fulfill their mother's request, and Matsu a scowl on his face went to settle down at the table.

"I apologize for my family, we can be quite a rowdy bunch sometimes." The older woman said as she plucked Kanna from the ground. Even though for the first two days she had spent at the shrine, the little girl had been wary of all the new people surrounding her, she remembered what Shippou had told her about Kagome's family and had slowly started to warm up to them. On the other hand it had not taken long for Hana to get attached to both Kagura and Kanna.

"Nah. It feels good to be surrounded by an actual family. People who really care about each other..." Kagura said more to herself than to Mrs. Higurashi.

Kagura's words made Hana frown deeply. She was not sure what the wind sorceress and her daughter had gone through, but she instinctively felt like it had to be quite horrific. When Kagome had come home with Kagura and Kanna in tow, it had never occurred to Hana to turn them away, and she was happy she had not. A smile on her lips she smoothed a hand down Kanna's fair head.

"I know I've already asked a lot of you, but would you mind looking after Kanna after breakfast for a couple of hours? I'd ask Kagome, but she has work... I am going to go see an acquaintance about a possible job..." The wind sorceress explained while placing her dishes in serving plates.

"No trouble at all. Kanna is a real darling." Hana smiled balancing the toddler at her hip before taking a hold of the bowl of soup destined to her father in law and heading towards the dining room.

"Thanks. All I have left to do is find a decent job." Kagura smiled before adding to herself _'And a new place to live. I don't want to take advantage of the generosity of the Higurashi family.' _As she placed the plate of eggs on the table, her eyes scanned the small dining table where Souta, Kagome and Matsu were seated a little too close for comfort.

"Not to mention that I need to start paying my boarding fee." The wind sorceress said. Even if she had not intended to, her words were loud enough for Hana to hear.

"We already discussed this Kagura. You have no need to. You are Kagome's friend…" _'Hum maybe I should agree. Kagome did warn me about Kagura's pride…' _With a small sigh as she noticed the wind sorceress's frown Hana added aloud. "Well I guess we could come to some sort of an agreement. Ji-chan always needs a little help around the shrine. We were thinking about hiring a part time worker, but you might just be a nice fit. We could certainly work around your work schedule."

"Thank you. I'd love that." Kagura smiled brightly as she took Kanna from Mrs. Higurashi's arms, and placed her daughter in the high chair Souta had dragged from the attic.

_'Yes everything will work out just great.'_ Hana smiled at her enlarged dinner table.

* * *

"Oh how's my fave girl doing?" Kagura asked cheerfully as she stepped out of the bus. She repressed a curse when she almost dropped her cell phone in the process.

"Kagura?! You little witch! I didn't even know if you were alive or not." The female voice retorted with a pout.

"I'm a tough girl; you should know I'd be fine. Though I'm sorry for not calling more often... then again a phone works both ways. No, Yura?" The wind sorceress smirked.

"Guess you're right." Her former coworker at Tsubaki's coffee shop smiled genuinely happy to hear from Kagura. "So what's up? Did you leave town? Or did you manage to seduce that mysterious hot stranger to help you out?" The hair demoness asked.

"Hum... I'm still in town. And Sesshoumaru... I don't really want to get into it if you see what I mean...." Kagura trailed off, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Aw I'm sorry girl. From the looks of it you got with this Sesshoumaru guy and things didn't work out. See that's why I never violate rule number one: seduce them, use them, but don't fall in love..."

"Why don't we talk about you for a change!" Kagura cut her friend eager to distract her from the subject of Sesshoumaru. For the few days she had been separated from the dog demon, Kagura had truly realized how much of an important part of her life he had become, and how much his absence hurt her.

_'Just yesterday I almost picked up my phone to mock Inuyasha and have some fun with Sessh at his brother's expense. I know Inuyasha's antics would have amused Sesshoumaru. I miss him so much.' _Kagura thought feeling tears forming in her crimson orbs, and her throat tightening. _'Damn it! Since when am I so emotive?! I had genuine reasons for leaving Sesshoumaru... but it doesn't make it any less painful...'_

"My love life is great. I got married... and before you ask questions. No, I don't love him. Yes, it's the guy who brought me along his month long vacation. And yes, I couldn't be happier. The fool didn't even make me sign a prenuptial agreement. The only thing is that we had to move because of his new job, but this new city isn't so bad. Not to mention that the big bump in his paycheck is nice too" Yura explained as she put her phone on speaker and picked up a nearby hairbrush to run it through the long brown locks of the man lying next to her in bed.

"Wow... congratulations I guess..." Kagura said slightly disturbed by her friend's words. Even though she had yet to encounter a loving married couple, the wind sorceress knew she wouldn't want anything less in her life. She then decided to change the topic of conversation to the reason she had decided to call Yura in the first place. "Say 'Mrs. I just got married', since you moved out whatever happened to your apartment? I am in need of a place to stay..."

"Hum how come you only call me when you're in need of a place to stay?" Yura joked smiling as she admired the silky texture of the man's brown hair.

"The way you make it sound... I'm not trying to use you..." Kagura's lips formed into a pout as she reached her destination.

"Don't apologize. It's all good. You know I'm here to help you in any way I can. Unfortunately my dear hubby asked me to give up my apartment. Had you asked me before, I'd have kept it for you, but since you were MIA... Then again last I heard the apartment was still empty I'll text you the phone number of the landlady." The hair demoness said feeling bad for her friend.

"Thanks that'd be great. I have a job interview in five minutes, and if I manage to get a good enough job, I should be able to afford it." The wind sorceress smiled.

"Good luck girl. Call me soon again so we can catch up." Yura smiled as she reached over to her phone placed on her bedside table. After ending the call, she reached back for her husband's hair.

"So I am a fool for loving you enough not to have you sign a prenup?" The tiger demon asked a grin revealing his large teeth on his lips as he let Yura brush his long hair, which he had recently decided to grow for her sole enjoyment.

"Of course." She retorted letting go of the brush to gently comb his hair with her fingers.

"I see. Oh and what is this nonsense about you not loving me?" He asked turning around to face his wife, green eyes filled with amusement.

"I don't!" She snapped averting her gaze from his.

"Liar. All I have to do is touch you, and your pulse goes crazy." He leaned over her to press a kiss to her neck.

"That's not love it's _lust_ and it's all I have for you! I don't love you. I'm a practical woman, and I only married you for your money." She squealed like a schoolgirl in surprise when he pounced on her, flattening her small frame on their bed.

The tiger demon didn't even bother arguing with her, after all they both knew she was lying blatantly.

* * *

After hanging up from her phone call with Yura, Kagura took a deep breath. A plan of action was now forming in her head. But first she knew she would need to get a job.

"Guess it does start here." She said aloud looking up at the sign indicating the young mother center. "Been a long time." She muttered to herself.

"Hello I am Kagura Onigumo, here for an interview with Bankotsu." The wind sorceress introduced herself to the receptionist.

"Ah yes, but actually Bankotsu is teaching a class right now, but Jakotsu is available to see you. Give me a second…" The pretty young woman smiled warmly. Kagura knew that her smile was to make the nervous young mothers coming to the center for help be able to relax. The young and equally pretty receptionist who used to work at the time Kagura benefited from the help of the center also had a warming smile able to chase away all the discomfort, nervousness and fear the wind sorceress used to have.

"No need to fetch me, I am here." Jakotsu appeared a broad grin on his lips. "Kagura a delight to see you again. Too bad you didn't bring Kanna." The young man said a half smile on his red painted lips as he walked towards Kagura. He was known for his exuberant personality, his affection for children and despite his profession, professed hatred of women.

"Well yesterday I called about a possible job, and Bankotsu told me to drop in for an interview... so here I am" The wind witch said eagerly. The young mother center was one of the few places she had applied for along with a small bookstore near the Higurashi shrine, and a small restaurant. Based on the reaction of the employee of the bookstore at seeing her slim resume, since she had decided not to include the months she had worked for Sesshoumaru, Kagura already knew she would not be working there. She had yet to go through an interview at the restaurant, but she was confident since she had a lot of experience in waitressing. Her only fear was that after seeing her resume, the people of the restaurant would actually call Tsubaki, who Kagura was sure would not have only nice things to say about her.

"An interview?" Jakotsu gasped seemingly appalled. "There's no need for that."

Kagura's mood dampened even if her smile did not falter. _'Damn I always knew I got along better with Bankotsu. I surely would have gotten a job if he was the one doing the interview.'_

"Well if we consider the fact that we were looking into hiring a part time morning employee, that you've taken most of our classes, and that thanks to your help the morale around here has gone up. That survey thingy you set up actually helped out the self esteem of a lot of young mothers." Jakotsu remarked. The absence of smile on his lips did not betray how inside he truly felt warm and grateful. He did after all have a reputation to maintain. Everyone thought Bankotsu to be the joyful, more open one, while Jakotsu was thought of as being the cruel and harder half of the couple.

"Do you mean I'm hired?" The wind sorceress smiled brightly, a sense of relief washing over her. Things were finally looking up for her.

"Be here tomorrow morning at eight o'clock sharp." Jakotsu answered before spinning on his heeled boots and taking his leave.

* * *

Sesshoumaru's sharp golden eyes rested on the most offending thing he had ever seen; the black leather bound notebook he had stolen from Naraku, the one which contained the names of all of the clients and employees of the spider half demon's brothel. Ever since the dog demon had acquired it a week and a half ago, he could not bring himself to actually open it and look inside.

_'How many times does the name of Kaze come up? How many of Naraku's clients was she forced to have sex with? Three? Thirty? Three hundred?! God how long has she even started working there? Knowing Naraku probably since she was young…'_ Only thinking about Kagura's past life made a sick feeling rise inside Sesshoumaru. He shook his head to rid himself of his disturbing thoughts when he felt the taste of bile rise in his throat.

_'I'd rather not think about this.'_ The dog demon thought rubbing a tired hand over his knitted brows. For the past seven days he had been debating about whether to open the notebook or not. The question had been weighing so much on his mind that it had actually offered some sort of distraction to the fact that Kagura and Kanna had left, but not a reprieve what's so ever. It was to his dismay only after the two had left that Sesshoumaru realized how much they had meant to him.

"I hope the both of them are doing well." The dog demon thought just as he felt his cell phone ring. Considering that it was in the middle of the afternoon, he knew who was at the other end of the line.

"Time for your daily update." The dispassionate voice of Inuyasha sighed.

"Get to the point little brother." Sesshoumaru retorted turning around to face away from the notebook on his office desk, preferring to look through his large windows at the beautiful scenery.

"From what Kagome told me, Kagura's job at that center for babies or whatever is going well. She also got a waitressing position in a restaurant. She works there at night." The half dog demon said. He did not like telling his older half brother about the details of Kagura's life, but he had been doing so for the past week. A part of him knew that had the positions been reversed, he would want Sesshoumaru to fill him in about the happenings in Kagome's life.

"Two jobs? That is a lot…" Sesshoumaru murmured more to himself than to his brother. He knew that Kagura would never accept his help especially on the monetary aspect, but he had hoped that if things got too bad for her, she would come to him.

"From what I gathered she's looking into moving out of the shrine very soon. Guess now she has enough money for the deposit and stuff…" Inuyasha said a clawed finger gently scratching the back of his ear.

"Is there anything else?" Sesshoumaru asked mulling over the information he had just gotten.

"There's a family dinner at the shrine on Sunday in three weeks. Mrs. Higurashi is throwing it to celebrate my engagement to Kagome. Maybe you'd like to come. Kagura and Kanna will be there…" The two Takahashis knew that even if the fact that Inuyasha wanted his brother to partake in a family celebration for his upcoming nuptials, the occasion was more of an excuse for Sesshoumaru to see the wind sorceress and void demoness.

As his brother's words Sesshoumaru took a deep breath. The prospect of seeing Kagura and her daughter was tempting. If the meeting was to take place at the shrine she also wouldn't get a chance to run out of the place.

"It's too soon. Knowing her Kagura needs a little more time." The older brother said even if he wished it wasn't so. He also knew that he too needed a little time to himself to deal with all the revelations Naraku had made. He turned around to face back at his desk, his eyes resting on the black notebook.

"Whatever. Just as long as you don't take too long…I am getting tired of spying for you…"

"Instead of worrying about my _love life_." Sesshoumaru smiled when his brother made a gagging sound. "Worry about yours." He completed. "By the way have you done as I asked you? Must I remind you that the time frame for the accomplishment of my plan is crucial?"

"Feh! I ain't dumb! I did as you asked, so did Miroku. Anyways you have other things to worry about. I mean you may be getting the business back on its feet, but don't go forgetting about your own life. Miroku is over the moon since Sango and him have been doing so well lately, and one love struck puppy is all I can handle." With his last piece of advice Inuyasha hung up the phone.

"No need to worry, it won't be too long now." Sesshoumaru put down his cell phone and reached inside a drawer of his desk for an ashtray and a lighter. He kept both at hand along with expensive cigars for some of his clients who knew how to enjoy a good Cuban.

Without batting an eye he picked up Naraku's black book and set it on fire. As he looked at the burning papers falling into the ashtray, he felt as if a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders. He then realized that just like the secrets of Naraku he was making disappear, he could forget about Kagura's past.

_'Now if only she could do the same.'_ He thought to himself as his sensitive nose was assaulted by the acrid scent of smoke.

* * *

Naraku hummed a light tune under his breath. His original plan had not worked, but he had yet to use his ace. If he could not get any money from Kagura's boyfriend, he decided to then make the wind sorceress's life miserable.

_'Quite a fitting trade off.' _He thought to himself proudly.

His crimson eyes moved from the window of the Yuki tower to his half empty glass of gin just as he fished his cell phone out of his pocket.

"It is your beloved Naraku." He said as soon as the person on the other line picked up the phone. He was clearly amused by the situation.

"What do you want? You promised not to call me anymore." The female voice whispered. Based on the muffled sounds, Naraku inferred she was moving around, probably in search of privacy.

"I lied." He shrugged.

"How much do you want this time?" The female voice sighed discontentedly. She knew her husband would not be happy at the prospect of signing another check to Naraku.

"Ha the roles will actually be reversed today. It is I who can do something for you." He said lightly. _'Yes _she_ will be the perfect way to make Kagura suffer.'_

"What is it?" She asked worried about what the dark hanyou would tell her.

"I can tell you where to find _her_." His revelation made the voice of the demoness catch in her throat. She knew who he spoke about, and the possibility of obtaining the information made her heart quicken.

"You will have to do something for me in return."

"I will do anything you want Naraku." She said, and she meant it.

"Good. How soon can you meet me?" He asked.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Looks like somebody is back to his scheming ways. Next time a reunion between our favorite couple? We'll see in **Left behind**.


	42. Left behind

_**Chapter 42: Left behind**_

A/N: Our two fave demon will finally get to see each other again, but we'll see in which circumstances.

Thank you to my amazing reviewers:

**Sychotic**

**Soojinyeh **

**Kiari 13**

**Hellina-Bertinelli**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**FoxFire7**

**Ryunn Kazan **(I'm not so sure I get what you're talking about… I've never spoken about Naruto couples since I'm not that into it. )

**SessKag Fan4Life** (Thank you dear new reviewer. I do my best to always update once a week; usually on Wednesdays or Thursdays.)

Once again thank you to **Dogsfang** for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(The identity of the mysterious woman will be revealed soon… or rather at some point lol)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"So what do you think? The place used to belong to a friend of mine, so I kind of know the neighborhood already." The wind sorceress said appreciatively as her crimson eyes scanned over her new living environment. Yura's old apartment may contain only one bedroom that Kagura and Kanna would now be sharing, but it had a large living room and kitchen area, which the wind sorceress greatly appreciated.

_ 'I'll be able to cook, and Kanna will have a place to play, but there's no bathtub. I'm really going to miss those long baths I use to take at Sessh's place.'_ From then on her thoughts drifted to the lusty time she had spent with the dog demon in his bathtub the first time they had slept together. Only thinking about it made a delightful warm feeling course through her body. _'Now is really not the time to think about him.' _She berated herself looking at the boxes littering her new living room.

"Your mom sure was generous to give me all this stuff." Kagura smiled enthusiastically as she turned around to face Kagome, who was helping her move in.

"It's old furniture that was just going to waste in the storage room. Besides Grandpa said it was an advance on your salary. Now that thanks to you we emptied the storage room, I bet he's going to have you stock it up again with a bunch of stuff…" Kagome dismissed Kagura's thanks as she put on the brand new carpet the small box containing some of her old baby things she was carrying.

"Moving boxes isn't that bad. I don't mind some physical work." The wind witch smiled back, gently picking up her daughter just as Kagome reached for Shippou. The two youngsters were about to protest, but refrained when they saw that Kagura and Kagome were just getting them out of the way.

"Keh! If you like physical work so much, how come I am doing all this heavy lifting?!" Inuyasha grumbled as he dragged along the mattress the wind sorceress had just purchased. Even though Mrs. Higurashi had possessed an old couch, and dining table with a set of chairs, Kagura had to buy a mattress for a bed. She was however glad that Yura's old landlord had agreed to let her have the desk and TV set her friend had left behind.

"I believe it is called chivalry." Miroku remarked helping his best friend pushing the large mattress through the door of the bedroom.

"Yeah well I ain't a pack horse so stop trying to push this damn thing on my back, and lift it." The irritated half demon retorted.

"How come is it that these two argue so much?" Sango asked a sigh escaping her lips.

"Men…" Kagome trailed off mirth lightening her chocolate eyes.

"Whatcha talking about wench?" Inuyasha scowled as he walked back into the living room. "Anyways Kagura you better feed us after all this work, I am starving."

"Inuyasha! Be more respectful." Kagome scolded him. The hanyou did not bother answering, although he glared at his son who was having a hard time keeping his bubbling laughter in.

"I'd cook, but I'm a little low on groceries, so I'll have to go shopping first." Kagura said suspiciously eying the fridge that had come with the apartment. She had yet to actually open it, and only feared about what could be inside.

"Don't worry about it. We are here to help you, for friendship's sake, not for a free meal." Sango remarked. Kagura was shocked to see how in the past two weeks the young woman had changed. She seemed much more assertive than before, and the wind sorceress could not help but wonder if it had to do with dating Miroku, or working with her father and younger brother in the family business.

"No it's no problem at all. I'll take Kanna with me. It will also give us an opportunity to get better acquainted with the neighborhood. In the meantime if you could unpack the cooking utensils and put them in the kitchen with the plates and stuff on the table that would be just great."

"See! She's trying to con us into doing more work while she goes out prancing around." Inuyasha grumbled.

"You are unbelievable." Kagome refrained herself from doing her fiancé bodily harm. "Of course we'll gladly help. Why do you think she's asking us to do that? To get a head start since we wouldn't want for the immense pit that is your stomach to have to wait too long to get some food."

"I never thought I'd say that, but I actually missed hearing them argue like this." Sango observed thoughtfully.

"Lucky you. Ever since Inuyasha's surprise marriage proposal they've been at it non stop. I can't wait to see how they're going to set up their wedding ceremony and things…" Miroku said relishing the entertainment their future arguing would be sure to provide him.

"Kagome's grandpa said they won't make it to the ceremony, and that they'll kill each other first." Shippou said squirming in Kagome's arms to be put on the ground.

"Is that so? Then maybe he could be persuaded into creating a betting pool… Better yet, I should do it at the office, that'd be a great way to get a windfall." The blue eyed young human said thoughtfully.

"Miroku Houshi! You better not try to take advantage of my departure to try to get money out of people!" Sango exploded glaring at her boyfriend. She could still remember how before she had put an end to it, Miroku used to have betting pools set up where male employees of the Takahashi agency would wager on the color of Kagome's panties, or on the length of her renowned very short miniskirts. Of course Inuyasha had never heard of these, otherwise his friend would have been sure to rip him to shreds with his claws.

"Of course not Sango. Remember what I said last time? I am a changed man thanks to you." The look of fury in his woman's eyes let him know she did not buy it.

"Okay kids, let's go shopping. No need for you to witness the idiocy of adults so early in your lives." Kagura sighed as she gently ushered Shippou and Kanna out of the apartment.

As soon as they left her new place, Kagura let out a sigh. Noticing the forlorn look on Kanna's face, she frowned. "Kanna-chan, are you okay?"

"Yes." The toddler answered impassively. Her answer made Kagura worry even more. _'Maybe she feels bad because I've been working so much. Then again I bring her with me at the center, and Mrs. Higurashi had said that everything went great when I left Kanna with her to work at the restaurant in the evenings. I mean Kanna was fine before with being babysitter by Kaede when I had to work for dear old dad…'_ Unsure about what to do, Kagura suddenly picked up the fox kit walking next to her and murmured in is ear so that Kanna would not hear "Do you know what's up with her?" Her crimson eyes were still locked on her daughter, who was proudly walking in front of her.

Shippou always eager to help Kanna, who he considered his best friend answered without hesitation "She misses Kuma-chan." He however did not mention that the little girl missed Sesshoumaru as well, if not more. The reason being that Kagome, who to his delight he could now officially call 'mommy,' had advised him not to talk of his dog demon uncle around Kagura for a little while.

Kagura remembered that for the first days after their departure from Sesshoumaru's apartment, Kanna had asked after her stuffed toy Kuma-chan, but since she had stopped, the wind sorceress had inferred that maybe she had forgotten about it.

_'I'm so stupid. Just because I didn't want to chance seeing Sesshoumaru, I made Kanna suffer. She loves that white teddy bear, and if she wants it, well we'll go get that damn bear.' _The wind sorceress thought to herself saddened by how much she had hurt her daughter.

"Ah looks like we're here." The wind sorceress forced a smile as she took a shopping cart in front of the supermarket and placed the two little children inside. She wasted no time to try to make things right with her daughter. "Say Kanna would you like to go looking for Kuma-chan today?"

"Really?!" Kanna asked her face lightning up, and a big smile finally appearing on her lips.

"Yeah. We'll go this afternoon since my shift at the restaurant starts late today." Her mother said relieved to see a smile appear back on Kanna's lips.

"Thank you mommy." The little girl said lovingly.

"Can we get pocky?" Shippou's question slightly startled Kagura, but her response came quickly when she placed two boxes of the sweet treat in her cart.

"Can we get more?" Kanna asked shyly.

"Fine, but you each eat a box today, and the rest tomorrow." The wind sorceress chuckled as she picked up two more boxes. _'I don't know if I should be glad about the fact that Shippou has given Kanna quite a taste for sweets. Then again she is a child, and needs to have some fun…'_

The rest of the shopping trip went on perfectly, just as well as the large meal shared at Kagura's new apartment with her friends. Despite her happiness something was weighing on the wind sorceress's mind. A part of her dreaded seeing Sesshoumaru after the horrible things she had said to him, but the part of her that missed him terribly hoped he would be at his penthouse when she dropped by; even though, realistically speaking she knew he usually stayed at the office later than that.

* * *

"Ugh had I remembered how much of an annoying scatter brain Totosai is I would have kept my key to the penthouse. " Kagura growled. It had taken her close to ten minutes to convince the manager of the building to lend her his key to Sesshoumaru's penthouse. Totosai was a senile old demon with bad hearing therefore no matter how many times Kagura explained he refused to listen to her. Despite the many weeks she had spent in the building the old man seemed to have forgotten all about her.

"That old man is a real waste of time." The wind sorceress sighed. Then as she looked down at her daughter a smile appeared on her red lips. "Whatever now we're going to get your pretty Kuma-chan back anyway." Kanna answered her mother's smile eagerly.

Just as she readied herself to insert the key she had worked hard to obtain, the door of Sesshoumaru's penthouse was swung opened. None other than the dog demon was now standing in front of Kagura and Kanna.

The sudden appearance made her hear beat go wild. The wind sorceress took a step back, an expression of shock on her face. "You're home." Was all she could find to say.

"I am." He answered, already feeling ridiculous for answering so. Seeing Kagura at his doorstep on the one day he had decided not to go to his agency shocked him beyond words. Since his brother and Miroku had asked for time off to help her move into her new apartment, Sesshoumaru had decided to leave the office early himself, and to work from home. He was amazed by how much seeing Kagura affected him inside. He suddenly felt his heart beat painfully and his mouth go dry. Being so easily affected unnerved the cool and collected dog demon.

The two youkais stared into each other's eyes, not finding anymore to say. Luckily for them Kanna offered a distraction when she latched herself on Sesshoumaru's leg.

"Sesshoumaru!" The little girl exclaimed happily, breaking the heavy silence between the two adults.

"Kanna" A sincere smile which dazzled Kagura appeared on the inu youkai's lips.

He acknowledged Kanna's enthusiasm by taking a hold of the little girl, who was leaning against him, and placing her at his hip. He gave her a small hug before setting her back down. Kagura's heart ached even more at seeing the two of them together.

_'It's not Kuma-chan only that Kanna has been missing, she missed him too, and I'm sure Sesshoumaru missed us as much as we missed him.' _Kagura thought feeling horrible.

"Come inside." He said happily, stepping aside to let both of them step in. _'I knew she would come back to me, but knowing Kagura's pride, I thought it would take her longer to do so. I guess she truly could not do without me.' _Sesshoumaru thought proud of himself. He however furrowed his brows when he noticed that Kagura had a frown on her face.

The way the scene of Kagura's return played in his mind, it involved profuse apologies, a nice family dinner, then a long exhausting yet very fulfilling session in his bed. In truth he had not expected her to be overjoyed, but he would have at least appreciated a smile.

"I like your hair down." He commented his golden gaze going over Kagura's small frame. He had always appreciated seeing her hair unbound, and was glad to see it so once again. He however frowned when he saw that she had lost weight. _'All my efforts went to waste. No matter, now that she is back by my side she will regain a fuller figure soon.'_

"Thanks. I figured I might as well try something different." She self consciously ran a hand through her long and messy wavy locks, hoping to give it some sort of acceptable appearance. She regretted not taking the time to arrange her hair and apply her make up more carefully. Had she known the dog demon was to be home, she would have dressed better.

"Well Sessh, the reason we're here is…" The wind sorceress started, but was interrupted by Sesshoumaru who raised his hand.

"No need. I can already tell." He said. _'Knowing Kagura trying to apologize must be too hard. I'd rather spare her.'_

"Oh I guess you'd figure we'd come for Kuma-chan sooner or later." Kagura said not really surprised. She knew that the dog demon was attentive to details and that he was aware that Kanna was attached to the plush toy he had given her.

"Kuma-chan?" He said feeling his heart sink. He had truly believed Kagura had come back to him to resume their relationship, and the fact that she was merely here for her daughter's plush toy vexed him.

"Yeah Kanna left it behind by accident." The wind sorceress explained. "So do you know where it is?" As much as seeing Sesshoumaru pleased her, it also hurt. She was not prepared to see him again, and wanted to leave as quickly as possible, lest she say or do something regretful.

"On the couch... Let me go get it." He answered moving over to the living room to retrieve the forgotten toy, which he had placed next to the blanket Kagura had gifted him. Both were reminders of his two girls.

"So nothing changed much around here." The wind sorceress said uncomfortably, trying to relax the tense atmosphere between them. She placed her large bag higher on her shoulder. Suddenly the little gift she had placed in it felt heavier.

_'Probably since I was not expecting to see Sessh today… The way I worked things in my mind, I was supposed to drop it behind as an apology for walking into his house without permission.'_ She thought to herself.

"Not really." He said as he came back with Kuma-chan, kneeling over to hand him to Kanna.

"Thank you Sesshoumaru." The child smiled throwing herself in the comforting arms of the dog demon. Seeing that she was not ready or willing to let him go, Sesshoumaru took to his feet, Kanna cradled in his arms.

"You left some clothes in our… my bedroom." He almost kicked himself for his slip of the tongue.

"Yeah they didn't fit in my bag…"

"I packed them. You can take them if you want."

_'Guess he was eager to get rid of me. Can't say I blame him, I practically ran away from here like some thief. Pretty sure I hurt his feelings.' _The wind sorceress thought ashamed of herself. Little did she know that it was because he could not bear seeing the remainder of her clothes in the closet they had shared that he had removed her clothes; it hurt him too much to have physical evidence of her presence in his penthouse.

"I guess I should take them off your hands…" Kagura tried a smile. "I'll be right back." Without another word she fled to the master bedroom.

"Sesshoumaru I want to stay here." Kanna said burrowing her face inside the crook of his neck, her small arms holding on to him.

"You don't mean that. What about your mother?" He smiled gently, caressing the little girl's white locks.

"She has to stay too. The four of us like before!" The prospect of having her family back made Kanna's eyes shimmer in delight.

"Four?" He questioned an eyebrow raised in surprise.

"With Kuma-chan. I left him here to stay with you. I don't want you to be lonely." Her words made his chest tighten. It was unbelievable to him that a little child could so easily see through him.

"You have no reason to worry about me. I was not lonely" He lied, faking a small smile for Kanna's benefit.

"You did not miss me and mommy?" She asked him. The indescribable feelings of sadness and shock going through her almost brought tears to her dark eyes. It was not conceivable to her that he had not missed her when she had been suffering greatly of their separation.

"No need to cry little one. Of course I did. I missed you… and your mommy very much."

"Then can we come back?"

"It isn't so simple…" He trailed off cowardly wishing for Kagura's return. Somehow it was impossibly hard for him to lie to Kanna, and telling her the truth was so complicated.

"Why not? Mommy miss you too. I see her cry one night." Kanna's said in a faint voice, the ache in her chest was back. Her words felt like a physical blow to Sesshoumaru.

"I am so sorry Kanna." Was all he could find to say, and he hated himself for that. How he wished he could tell the little girl everything would be alright and back to normal, with the three of them under the same roof.

"Can you come with us? The new apartment is nice… The shrine too. They have a cat… oh and also a very very old tree called the Gosinkoku!" Kanna spoke quickly. She had gotten used to the new and smaller apartment she shared with her mother, as well as the Higurashi shrine where she spent time when her mother could not bring her to work with her. She liked it there, but she would like it even more if Sesshoumaru was to move in with them.

"Goshinboku you mean." He corrected his upper lip twitching in amusement. "Yes I heard of it, and saw it before. It is indeed very impressive. I take it all is well at the shrine? Do you have fun?" He faked a bright smile while he caressed her downy head. Kanna nodded energetically in response to his question.

"Good. I am sorry but it is not possible for me to come with you as well."

"Okay." Kanna sighed sadly. Somehow she knew that he would decline her suggestion, but she still had to ask. Then suddenly brightening up she added "Then here keep Kuma-chan!"

"I can't. It is his job is to look after you, and I know he takes it very seriously." Sesshoumaru said to humor her.

"Okay. Then take this." Kanna struggled to reach up for one of her flower hairpins before extending it to a surprised dog demon. "I want you to have it, so you don't forget me."

Had he been prone to tears, he would have cried, but being Sesshoumaru he merely smiled sadly. "I could never forget you, but I will accept your gift, and cherish it." He cradled the small hairpin in his large hand before placing it in his pocket. He then gave Kanna one more hug before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"I think I'm all set." Kagura said as she walked back into the living room, fighting back incoming tears. She had no intention to tell her daughter or Sesshoumaru that she had seen and heard what had just taken place between them. The conversation had cut into her heart like a knife, and left her bleeding inside.

"Good." The dog demon said placing the child on the ground.

"I guess it's time to go." The wind sorceress said uncomfortably.

"You could always stay for an early dinner. We could order take out from that Chinese restaurant…" He proposed feeling hopeful. If the wind sorceress was not ready to come back live with him, he still hoped to at least spend time with her.

Kagura's stomach almost grumbled at thinking of the dumplings she loved so much, but it was Kanna's expectant dark eyes that almost made her agree. With a suffering sigh she shook her head. "Unfortunately I am due at work soon… maybe some other time." She smiled at him tentatively. She sighed in relief when a light smile appeared on Sesshoumaru's lips.

"Are you going to attend the dinner Mrs. Higurashi is setting up in a couple of weeks for Inuyasha's engagement to Kagome?" Kagura tried hiding her hopefulness.

"Maybe…" He simply answered enigmatically, gloating inside; the wind sorceress's eagerness had not escaped his keen eye.

"Well I definitely will be there since I was enlisted to help with the cooking. It seems that my skills have for some reason really impressed Hana." Kagura chuckled. Sesshoumaru did not even pretend to act surprised, after all he was aware of all this, courtesy of Inuyasha.

"Well then I guess I'll see you around…" The wind witch almost groaned at her words. _'You could have found something better to say!' _She berated herself. With one last smile, she placed the box containing her clothes under her arm, and reached for her daughter.

"Kagura." Before she took a hold of Kanna, Sesshoumaru interrupted her. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, then lightly traced the bags under her beautiful crimson eyes with his long fingers, mindful of his claws. "If you ever need anything…" He started.

"I know I can count on you." She smiled brightly at him. The words were barely out of her mouth that to her surprise he snaked his arm around her slim waist and flattened her body against his. In her surprise Kagura dropped her box, where it lay forgotten when she gave herself to Sesshoumaru's embrace. She had almost forgotten how pleasurable simply being in his arms felt. Breathing in her scent he tightened his hold on her.

"Take care of yourself." He whispered to her pointy ear before giving his wind witch a peck on the forehead.

"Right back at you." She smiled before raising herself on the point of her toes to plant a kiss to the corner of his mouth. She had meant for the stripes on his cheek, but her desire for him had taken the best of her. She had however managed to resist getting a full taste of his lips.

Not leaving the surprised dog demon a chance to compose himself, Kagura took her box of clothes and her daughter before quickly slipping out of the penthouse.

_'Soon my dear. Very soon.' _Sesshoumaru smiled to himself pressing his finger to the side of his mouth where the taste and scent of Kagura's lips lingered on his tingling skin.

A smile still gracing his lips he headed for his fridge meaning to get a refreshing glass of water. Kagura's little impromptu visit had deeply pleased him, and seeing Kanna again had made him extremely happy as well. Thinking about the little girl, he fished out her hair pin and clasped it in his palm. Just as he entered his kitchen he stopped dead in his tracks. His smile slowly grew; the reason being a fresh apple pie resting on his kitchen counter. Sesshoumaru chuckled. He was so surprised about Kagura's visit that he did not even notice the little gift she had left behind for him.

_'To think that before meeting her I did not even enjoy sweets.' _His thoughts strayed to how Kagura had also initiated him to the pleasures of whip cream, especially in the confines of their bedroom…

_ 'It's going to be another long night of cold showers.' _He sighed with suffering taking a fork to dig into his pie.

.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Bittersweet meeting no? It was another sad one, I know. One more reason for you guys to hate me :P lol. The next chapter will be named **Hard day's work** in which things might start to brighten up.


	43. Hard day's work

_**Chapter 43: Hard day's work**_

A/N: After their impromptu meeting, let's see how our favorite demons are doing on the professional side of their lives.

Thank you to my fantastic reviewers:

**Sychotic**

**Soojinyeh **

**Kiari 13**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic **

**Killersupergirl (Glad to have you back!)**

**Kaguxsessfan **(Always great to get new reviewers. I'm so glad you found the chapter realistic. I'll definitely keep writing and try to update weekly.)

Once again thank you to **Dogsfang** for the PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(More angst? Ha you better not complain when I make the story drag longer lol..)

**Auna17 **(Thanks. I'm glad you appreciate the slowness of the story. It's true that my fics tend to drag, but it's for the greater good.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"Kagura!" A shrill voice called loudly.

"What is it now Jakotsu?!" The wind sorceress asked as she walked from the hallway where she had been busy organizing magazines to go towards her boss. The thin human was in the room that was known as his classroom, staring at his reflection in a mirror hung on the wall.

"I need to step out, and I'd like you to take care of my 9:30 class for me." The young man explained just as he turned to the side to observe his profile in the mirror. A slight frown on his brow, he wiped smudges of dark red lipstick at the corner of his lips. _'Bankotsu and his surprise kisses always wreak havoc on my make up.'_ Only thinking about it made him flush in pleasure.

"It's the one about feeding, right?" She asked excited at the prospect of it. Ever since she had started working at the young mother center, she had yet to conduct a class by herself. She had assisted both Bankotsu and Jakotsu, had helped their pretty receptionist Akemi file and fill out forms and files, but mostly she had looked after children of mothers while they were attending classes or information sessions.

"Yeah. You can handle it right?" He asked eyeing Kagura suspiciously.

"Of course. I do have a daughter…" She teased him as she rolled her eyes. "It's not in your habit to cancel a class… so what's up?"

"None of your business." He snapped despite the small secretive smile on his lips. Kagura could tell that he actually wanted to speak about his little secret, but only wanted to be probed a little more.

"Ah come on, you can confide in me you know." She chuckled as she walked towards her employer, and stopped next to him. For the few weeks she had worked at the center, Kagura had become quite close to Jakotsu, despite his professed hatred of women. _'To think that when I took classes and sought help here, I didn't really like him, but rather got along with Bankotsu…'_

"Fine fine. I know you won't leave me alone until I tell you." He feigned exasperation and put a lid on his excitement. My dear Bankotsu's birthday is coming up, so I have to go pick a special gift for him." Jakotsu tried masking his excitation. He loved his man, and getting him something he'd like as proof of his affection pleased him in return.

"Oh I see. Well good luck with your search; I always have so much trouble finding fitting presents for people…" Kagura remarked thoughtfully. _'Not that I have had many people to give gifts to…I guess I was lucky Sesshoumaru isn't that hard to please.'_ The wind sorceress suddenly winced, shocked to where her thoughts were leading her once again. Only thinking about the dog demon hurt her immensely. _'I hope he liked the pie. Despite how he claims not to like sugar, he does like my desserts.' _She killed her train of thoughts with a groan. No matter how much she tried, her thoughts always brought her back to the dog demon.

"Ugh don't I know it? Plus Banks is so hard to shop for…" He sighed exasperatedly.

"My my you have such a good heart. I don't know why you wish to keep that hating façade up." Kagura chuckled as she started setting up for the classroom she would conduct. Knowing that her daughter was well taken care of, she at least had peace of mind on that end.

'_When I'm unable to, it's great to have Akemi look after Kanna. At least now I can work freely.' _The wind sorceress thought as she placed pamphlets about feeding regimes of infants on each chair. She hoped that many mothers would show up at her first class since the number of women seeking help at the center tended to fluctuate greatly.

"I do hate women." Jakotsu commented, his eyes heavy with eye shadow, followed her movements silently approving of Kagura's actions. _'It seems she will be able to take over just fine after all.'_

"Then why would you open and run a mother center?" Kagura asked. The question had been weighing on her mind for some time; even, when she had been one of the clueless and desperate women seeking help and support.

"That's quite a simple answer. For Bankotsu… He loves kids, and since last time I checked I couldn't give him any…" Jakotsu murmured one of his deepest and most hurtful secrets.

"Then why wouldn't you open a nursery or preschool or whatever?" Kagura asked gently. She stopped prepping up for her class to look at her employer who had quickly become a friend. She could easily discern the cloudy look of hurt in his dark eyes, felt closer to him, as she knew the feeling all too well.

"We tried, but not everyone is as open minded as you are. Many people were uncomfortable with leaving their kids in the care of two gay men. Besides you may not know it, but both Bankotsu and I did a lot of… crappy things in our youth. Giving back to people and helping for a change, well it feels kind of good you know…" He decided to remain vague. After all he did not want Kagura to know about the short time in their adolescence he, his lover and their friends he called 'brothers,' had spent in jail, or on the run, nor did he want to tell her how he and Bankotsu had gathered up the money to start their center…

"Wow! You do have a golden heart. I don't know if you realize it, but your center does help and bring so much to people. Three years ago I was just like these women outside. Lost and scared, but you guys helped me through one of the hardest times of my life."

"Oh please don't get all mushy and emotional on me; it's disgusting. This is why I hate women! They're so overly emotional… Though if I was under torture, and forced to talk, I could maybe admit that you're a good asset to the place." Jakotsu scoffed.

"Now now who's getting mushy and emotional here?" Kagura grinned mirth in her eyes.

"Ugh let's get off this topic. I have to go, but here before I forget." The young man fished inside his purse for a stack of flyers. "Be sure to hand them around."

Kagura took the papers and decided to read them to satisfy her curiosity. She arched an eyebrow when she noticed that it was a notice for the possibility of a scholarship.

"What is this?" The wind sorceress asked her employer.

"Hum my brother… I mean… good friend" He corrected himself. Jakotsu had stopped referring to his close friends as such ever since they had put their shady past as the band of seven to rest. "Suikotsu needs to wash his conscience. He benefited from a scholarship to pay for his long medical studies, and since now he has a lucrative private clinic, he decided to do like Banks and me and start giving back to people…"

"By creating scholarships in return?" Kagura questioned. She was so interested by the prospect of having a new opportunity, that she did not ponder on the fact that the name Suikotsu seemed familiar to her.

"Yep for single mothers who want to go to college... Hum could it be that you are interested?" Jakotsu asked, suppressing a grin at seeing a twinkle in Kagura's crimson eyes.

"I've always wanted to further my education, but couldn't afford it." She admitted crimson eye once more resting on the stack of flyers.

"Then go ahead and send an application. Suikotsu is going to make his pick in less than a week though…" At the glare Kagura sent him, he added "I was supposed to give out these flyers a month ago, but I kind of forgot. Oh well gotta run!"

Without another word, Jakotsu left the classroom, his heeled boots making a sharp and loud clicking sound.

"A possible ticket to a college education…" Kagura's crimson eyes glowed when she thought about it. Her dream of independence was now so close that she could almost taste it.

* * *

Sesshoumaru settled down, his golden eyes roaming around him. The dog demon was seated in the large conference room situated in the building of his agency. Inuyasha was seated next to him, on his right, the occasional twitch of his hanyou ears betraying his nervousness. A kick under the table to the half demon's leg, courtesy of his half brother remedied to the problem. Inuyasha sent Sesshoumaru a nasty glare, but his nervousness was elevated.

On the other hand, Miroku was seated comfortably at Sesshoumaru's left, a silly grin plastered on his lips. The human was looking forward to this board meeting, more than he had in a long time.

"Why have you invited me here? I really do not see the reason for my presence." None other than Mrs. Yamashita said haughtily, her gaze dropping on Sesshoumaru's seated form across from her.

'_Well maybe he aims to show me the importance my company has for him. What other reason could he have to allow me to participate in his agency's board meeting?' _The 'b-bags' representative thought to herself, a proud triumphant smile on her lips.

"Here you go." Kagome smiled warmly as she finished serving coffee to the many people around the table. She smirked when both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru declined. The blatant, yet denied by both brothers, similarities between the two always amused her to no end. After one last wink to her fiancé, Kagome left the meeting room.

"Well Mr. Takahashi. Getting rid of this awful secretary you used to have is quite a good improvement." Mrs. Yamashita commented just before taking a sip of her coffee. "True talent cannot be made up by physical attributes." She snorted under her breath. Despite how low she had spoken, her last words were not lost on Sesshoumaru's sensitive ears.

"What did you say?" The dog demon asked, his golden gaze narrowing.

"I was merely referring to the fact that some young women think that having… an attractive body can make up for a lack of intellect." She thought about the wind sorceress.

"Mrs. Yamashita, one cannot be blamed if your husband enjoys the female flesh a little too much." Sesshoumaru paid great attention to keep his words as cryptic as possible. It would not do if anyone other than the 'b-bags' representative was to understand he was talking of Kagura, and her past.

Inuyasha shot his brother a surprised look, but did not comment on his words. Miroku on the other hand knew what Sesshoumaru was referring to, and sunk slightly in his chair, as he did not want to draw any attention to him. After all he had not forgotten the punch Sesshoumaru had laid on his jaw. Despite Sango's gentle nursing his jaw and cheek had remained sore for a very long time.

"I demand an apology Sesshoumaru!" The older woman said stopping the pretense of respect, as she took to her feet.

"I think one is not warranted." He retorted, ignoring the looks of shock the other share holders of his company were sending him. He even grinned when he noticed one of his father's collaborator, an aging fellow dog demon had grown crimson in shock, and seemed close to fainting.

"In that case I shall leave, and the Takahashi agency can forget any dealings with the 'b-bags' company." Yamashita threatened. She was sure that Sesshoumaru would be afraid of losing an important client, and would therefore not think twice before apologizing profusely to her in public.

"Be my guest. I trust you can show yourself to the door. Please do it in a prompt manner, we here have much business to conduct." Sesshoumaru retorted as he leaned back inside his comfortable leather bound chair. He hid his amusement at seeing the revolted look of hatred and anger on the older woman's face.

"Sesshoumaru! You will apologize!" Kichiro Kanzaki the older dog demon who used to work with his father roared angrily as he stood up. He had been a great friend of Mrs. Yamashita for many years, and could not stand to hear Sesshoumaru, who he considered to be a mere child, disrespect her in such a way. Nor did Kichiro want to lose the contract with 'b-bags,' on which he had worked on for a long time.

"I will do no such thing. If you wish to do so, Kichiro you may escort Mrs. Yamashita to the door..." Sesshoumaru at his father's former collaborator with insolence, defying him, just as he had wanted to for a long time.

_'I may not have wanted to take over the agency, but now that I have, I will make it my own. It is indeed time to make my own path, the same way Kagura is making hers…' _Sesshoumaru thought to himself. He had thought about his plan for a long time, and now that he was implementing it, he felt glad and empowered like never before.

"No need. You will never see me here again even when you realize how grave of a mistake you have just made." With these last words, and ignoring Kichiro's pleading eyes, Mrs. Yamashita exited the meeting room.

"What has gotten into you boy?!" The old dog demon asked, his words mirroring the sentiments of the other major share holders of the Takahashi agency present in the room.

"This Sesshoumaru is simply taking my independence. " He stated matter-of-factly, deciding this time to ignore the older demon referring to him as 'boy.'

_'In any case pretty soon he will not dare disrespect me in such a way.' _Sesshoumaru thought happily.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Kichiro growled, his golden eyes bearing down on Sesshoumaru. "Anyway whatever you want to do will have to go through _this_ board." His last words were met by a rumble of assent by the other men and women seated at the table. They were comforted by the fact that Sesshoumaru would not be able to make any important decision for the agency as long as the members of the board were against it. Due to that, the dog demon often times cursed the day he had agreed to sell shares of his agency to finance its growth.

Sesshoumaru chuckled before answering. "Hum you are wrong there. This Sesshoumaru has acquired enough shares to actually rule MY agency as I see fit."

"You lie!" A hedgehog demon exclaimed his own anger. "According to our agreement it is impossible. The older demon ran a finger over his gray moustache. He was referring to the fact that when Sesshoumaru was selling shares of his company, he had agreed for his brother and him not to own over 45 percent of the company. It was a sure way to contain the power he could have over the Takahashi agency. It also forced him to have to consult the other share holders on major decisions, or in even in the choice of their clients.

"Ever since my father's death, I let you old buffoons dictate too much of the going-ons in this company, but from now on I am in charge. I have acknowledged our agreement. I still only own the 25 percent of the agency, I have inherited from father, and Inuyasha his 20. Adding the 15% Miroku has just acquired, it gives the three of us enough power over any other share holders." Finally speaking the words made Sesshoumaru feel elated.

"Ridiculous. Where did he get the money to make such a purchase?" Kichiro growled angry at seeing he was over powered, and that there was probably nothing he could do about it. The three friends now owned 60% of the agency, which made them the major share holders, and enabled them to rule the company as they wished without having to care about the opinion of the other share holders.

"He he believe it or not, but my old drunkard uncle gave me an early inheritance…" Miroku chuckled rubbing the back of his head with his hand. He of course had just lied, as Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had been the one to give him the money, as none of them were able to actually buy more shares than they possessed.

_'This Sesshoumaru is now not a frightened young man, and I am more than able to conduct the company as I see fit.'_ He thought before speaking "Miroku was able to buy out some of the company's very minor shareholders at an appealing price." He blatantly lied, to his surprise, he had had to spend much more money than he had anticipated.

_'But it was worth every single penny.' _He thought to himself as his cold amber gaze travelled to the face of each member of the board. Some were resigned, shocked, others impassive, but the looks of seething anger and hatred in the eyes of Kichiro Kanzaki made Sesshoumaru's heart soar in pure joy.

"Now that you are merely minor share holders, your presence at this board meeting is not needed." Sesshoumaru stated just as he walked over to the door, opening it wide. The meaning of his action was not lost on the former board members, and with sour expressions on their faces, they all marched out.

"You will come to regret this decision little _boy_." Kichiro Kanzaki snorted when he walked past Sesshoumaru.

"Feh! That went well." Inuyasha commented as he too stood up to approach his brother. "So how does it feel to sit on the throne?" The younger brother asked him with a smirk.

"As if everything _finally_ is as it should be." Sesshoumaru grinned back, golden eyes roaming over the empty board room. "Our first order of business will be to start focusing on more lucrative companies, the ones dealing with common goods."

"You mean companies that deal in consumer products? But 'b-bags' would fall under this category." Miroku could not help but remark.

"To be more specific, we will only deal with companies whose heads or representatives are not unbearably annoying." Sesshoumaru replied. His remark made both Inuyasha and Miroku laugh; both men could not stand Mrs. Yamashita, and understood quite well Sesshoumaru's distaste.

"In my opinion, you should rather be working on getting a new secretary. A pretty one too." Miroku said winking at his boss.

The dog demon did his best to hide his anger when he answered. "Jaken has contacted employment agencies. I should have a... replacement for Kagura's vacant position soon." He wished that mending his romantic life could be as easy as hiring a new employee.

_'I said I would be patient before trying to get Kagura back, but waiting is becoming increasingly difficult. Her visit did not help either…' _Sesshoumaru repressed the urge to let out a sigh.

"Hum Sesshoumaru? Are you lost in your thoughts again?" Miroku asked tilting his head to the side to observe his boss and friend. As of late he had remarked that the ever focused dog demon seemed to let his mind drift away more and more often.

"Now that the agency is under our complete control, we have much more work, so what are you still doing here? Get back to work!" Sesshoumaru growled, and Miroku and Inuyasha quickly complied.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Both Kagura and Sesshoumaru are on their way to independence… will they succeed? The next chapter will be named **Encounters**.

I am so sorry to say that there won't be any update next week. I started a new semester at school, and justa started a new job as well. I am still trying to find enough time to balance school, work and writing. Unfortunately I haven't figured out a time to write yet, but I will soon (even if I have to sacrifice precious sleep lol).

See you all in two weeks!! I promise the next chapter is going to be a very interesting one.


	44. Encounters

_**Chapter 44: Encounters**_

A/N: Ah it's been a while. I feel like I haven't posted in forever! I'll try to keep up with the weekly updates as much as I can. I am sooo eager to find out what you make of this chapter. Also I decided to post a little fic for Valentine's Day. Check the end of this chapter to see the summary!

Thank you to my beloved reviewers:

**Sychotic**

**Soojinyeh **

**Kiari 13**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic **

**Killersupergirl **

**Little25victor (Happy to have you back!)**

**FoxFire7**

**Kagura's number one fan **(Aw thanks for the kind words of encouragement.)

Once again thank you to **Dogsfang** for the PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(Sesshoumaru doesn't really care about pissing off people or what the consequences might be. We'll see more of Naraku eventually. Ku ku ku)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

Kagura stretched trying to ease her aching back. It was a Saturday morning, and once again, she was working at the shrine. Rotating between her different jobs had become a normal routine for her. Moreover taking care of children, cleaning and moving things around at the shrine, or waitressing did not bother her too much.

'_Whatever I do, no matter how exhausting it feels, it's still better than working for Naraku…'_ She thought to herself with a scoff as she kept on sweeping the stone paved way leading to the large flight of stairs of the Higurashi shrine. She felt that anything she could do would be better than the kind of 'work' her father made her do.

"Excuse me. Could you give me directions?" An unsure shaking voice asked behind her. Kagura turned around to look at the person who had just climbed the stone stairs, and to her surprise her crimson eyes met a pair of familiar red eyes.

"Tanuki?!" The wind sorceress gasped in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"What a pleasurable coincidence Miss Kaze. I am so glad to see you again." The raccoon demon and employee of 'b-bags' said with a delighted smile. He hurriedly walked up the few stairs remaining to stand next to the wind sorceress.

"Same here. You look… well." She breathed out in surprise. The reason for Kagura's shock was not only due to seeing him at the shrine of all places, but also the new appearance of Tanuki. He looked more self assured and handsome, his shoulders straight and his head held high. Instead of his usual ill-fitting suit, he now wore a pair of dark blue jeans with a white shirt and a grey vest over it. He looked fashionable and sophisticated.

_'Who could have thought he was not only cute with his clumsy ways, but actually kind of… hot!' _She thought to herself eyeing his new and much improved appearance.

"Oh well you like my new style I guess?" He commented with an embarrassed chuckle. "Sondai decided to give me a makeover. She thinks this new style suits me well. I don't know about that… but if she likes it, I do too." He smiled tugging at his shirt, which he found a little too tight to his comfort. However he would never dream to complain to his dear Sondai.

"So the two of you did hit it off. I knew you would." Kagura grinned proudly, leaning on her broom. Her comment made Tanuki blush red. Ever since she had seen the two demons interact on the set of the test shoot so long ago, she had noticed that Sondai and Tanuki would make a great couple.

"Well… she kind of forced me to go on a date with her… and things went on from there…. But Miss Kaze what are you doing here? Volunteering?" He questioned eager to move the focus away from his relationship with the temperamental director employed by the Takahashi agency.

"Well Sesshoumaru and I… kind of are not together anymore…" Kagura sighed not willing to get into more detail. "So I decided to change jobs. Makes the whole separation thing less complicated…"

"What a pity…" Tanuki breathed out. As attracted as he might have been by Kagura in the past, he wanted her to be happy and smile like she used to, and he knew that Sesshoumaru was the best person suited to make her smile again.

"Anyways what are you doing here?" The wind sorceress asked aiming to stir the conversation away from the hurtful topic of her relationship with Sesshoumaru.

"Well to be honest Sondai sent me on an errand…" He blurted feeling slightly ashamed.

'_Poor dear, I knew she would walk all over him.' _Kagura chuckled to herself. "What kind of errand?" She asked surprised to see him at the shrine.

"Well Miss Kaze, actually Sondai wishes for me to get her some summer good luck charms at the shrine. She's been very interested in old myths of religions lately… she thinks it's 'in', and that having a few charms around her apartment would make it nice and fashionable." He laughed nervously.

He dared not tell Kagura that he had come to acquire a charm for himself as well. After all in only two days his dearest Sondai would meet the most important woman in his life, his mother. The old raccoon demoness was extremely protective of her only son, and the idea of him moving out made her faint. On the other hand, Sondai wanted nothing more than having her boyfriend be more independent of his controlling mother. And the poor Tanuki was stuck in the middle of the two strong willed female demons.

'_I can only hope that I will survive the confrontation…'_ He thought to himself, gulping audibly.

"Then go inside. There's an old man, the shrine keeper, he might bore you to death with old stories and stuff, but he's a nice man. Tell him you're coming on my behalf, and he might give you my employee discount." Kagura said with a smile. She knew that Tanuki was too nice to ever be able to fend off Matsu Higurashi and his unending long and boring stories.

'_Even I have a hard time telling him to stop…' _She added thoughtfully.

"Thank you very much for your help Miss Kaze… if I may be bold enough to ask, is it because of the remodeling of the agency that you had a falling out with Sesshoumaru-sama?" The raccoon demon asked uncomfortably.

"Remodeling?!" Kagura gasped in incomprehension. _'What is he talking about?'_ She wondered.

"You are not aware? Sesshoumaru-sama managed to overthrow the other share holders in his company, and took complete charge… For example he stopped dealing with Mrs. Yamashita and the 'b-bags' company altogether. Not that I blame him, she is insufferable. Due to her nasty behavior, I even quit my job. I now work for Sondai, she is a much more pleasant employer." Tanuki smiled happily. Quitting the tyrannical Yamashita to work for his lover had been one of the scariest decisions he had ever made, only second after deciding to introduce Sondai Shuhei to his mother.

'_I wonder what exactly took place. Is Sesshoumaru alright? Maybe I should call him or something…' _The wind sorceress thought to herself, suddenly worried about the dog demon.

As he noticed the concerned look suddenly displayed on Kagura's face, Tanuki quickly added with an uncomfortable chuckle "From what I heard, Mr. Takahashi is doing very well, so you shouldn't worry." He pressed a comforting hand to Kagura's shoulder. Tanuki had never been good in consoling people; especially women, who always made him very uncomfortable, but for Kagura he would always try his best.

Kagura smiled lightly at his attempt at cheering her up. She gave his hand a squeeze before removing it from her shoulder. "You should go ahead now.; I made you waste enough time. Something tells me that your dear Sondai must be waiting for you or something…"

Tanuki rested his red eyes on the watch at his wrist and gasped, it was much later than he thought, and he was sure his girlfriend would throw a fit if he came late to their date.

"I am very sorry Miss Kaze, but I have to go. You are right I am behind on my schedule. It was really a pleasure to see you again, and I can only hope w will run into each other once more." Without letting the wind sorceress say an additional word, Tanuki ran towards the shrine's shop.

_'Looks like I'm not the only one trying to make my own way… I just hope that Sesshoumaru is doing fine…' _Kagura thought as she resumed sweeping.

"Forgive me for the intrusion, but could I trouble you for a minute?" A melodious female voice asked.

Kagura looked up to look at the newcomer, shocked that the woman had managed to get close to her without the wind sorceress noticing.

"Are you looking for directions?" Kagura asked, her voice catching in her throat. The woman who had just appeared was one of the most beautiful demoness she had ever seen. Her overall appearance was nothing short of regal, her pale white skin seemed to be glowing, and the small wrinkles at the corner of her stunning crimson eyes only made her look more sophisticated and dignified, not old.

"How did you know?" The woman asked in surprise. She smoothed a hand, adorned with costly gold bracelets and a designer watch, over her expensive looking pale violet dress. Only the way in which she carried herself was gracious.

_'It seems to be in fashion today…' _Kagura thought to herself, thinking back to Tanuki's earlier visit. "You just seem a little lost." She added aloud. She could tell by looking at her that the woman was wealthy, and she had yet to see a patron of her class at the shrine.

"Yes. I am looking for a place to pray. My son will soon find out if he will be received in the university of his choice, and I wish to pray for his success." The older demoness said her crimson eyes rived on Kagura's face.

"Oh good for him. There's an area where you can pray and give donations over there, right around the corner on the left." Kagura said unable not to think back to the application she had sent for Suikotsu's scholarship. "I hope you'll find everything you need."

"I am sure I will. Thank you. You were most helpful." With a bright smile, the woman left Kagura and walked towards the direction the wind sorceress had indicated.

_'Hum maybe I should pray and donate for good fortune myself... maybe the old man would even give me a discount on good luck charms. After all I do want to be a recipient of Suikotsu's scholarships…' _The wind sorceress thought to herself as she hastened her clean up of the courtyard. It was getting late, and she had promised Kanna to take her for ice cream once she was done with her work at the shrine.

* * *

Sesshoumaru admired the sketch he was making with his piercing golden eyes. He gave a satisfied nod and placed it back on his worktable. Since his new secretary had yet to start working, his office desk was too littered for him to get any work done on it. He therefore had decided to work in his penthouse; even though, since the departure of Kagura and Kanna he tried to spend the less time possible there. He leaned down to pick up his cup of tea and drained it hoping his medicine would soon take effect and rid him of his bothersome migraine.

Once done his golden gaze strayed again to his sketch. Ever since he had remodeled his agency the demands of his clients had not gone down, and his business was still doing well, for which he was grateful despite the long hours of work.

His admiration of his work was interrupted by a knock at his door. Only a few seconds later, a key was inserted in the door, which was unlocked and opened. The dog demon knew exactly of only one person who would dare enter his penthouse without his permission, not to mention that only one person other than the manager of the building owned a key to his apartment.

_'Inuyasha' _Sesshoumaru growled to himself just as his half brother walked in, Shippou in his arms.

"Hey I'm on my way out, and I'm starving." The hanyou said just as he placed his son on the living room carpet, and headed towards the kitchen to help himself to the fridge.

"A normal person would stop at a super market or a fast food place." Sesshoumaru scoffed. He hated his half brother's habit of dropping by to get food from his fridge. He at least had refrained from doing it when Kagura and Kanna lived with him.

"Hey uncle Sesshoumaru." Shippou smiled as he walked towards the dog demon to observe what he was drawing. Sesshoumaru nodded in his nephew's direction before giving his red head a tap. Just as he grinned back happily, Shippou noticed something on his uncle that truly shocked and hurt him.

"Wah how come you have it! Inuyashaaa! Dad!" The fox demon, with tear filled eyes suddenly screamed.

"Why are you screaming for?!" Inuyasha hurried from the kitchen to join his son and brother. As soon as he appeared, Shippou latched onto his leg.

"He has the gift I gave to Kanna." The kitsune's facial features were contorted in a mask of outrage.

"She gave one of them to me." Sesshoumaru retorted, a clawed finger touching the flower shaped hairpin placed in his silver hair. His confession made Shippou stop frowning.

"Feh! That's all nice and well, but why are you actually wearing it?" Inuyasha snickered. He was amused by the sudden look of discomfort that appeared on his brother's face.

The older half sibling stood up from his couch, and took hold of one of his sketches, effectively hiding his face.

"My bangs are too long, and I have no time to get a haircut. The pin is therefore aof great help when I draw" Sesshoumaru shrugged, trying to mask the real reason why he had Kanna's hairpin on him. Then as he noticed the plate in Inuyasha's hand, Sesshoumaru put down his sketch, and lunged towards his brother.

"You idiotic moron." To Inuyasha's surprise the older Takahashi brother took the plate the youngest had been eating from and walked over to the dining table to safely place it there, a mask of anger etched on his face.

"Hey I ain't done eating!" The younger sibling growled in anger and outrage.

"Oh that was probably the pie Kanna and Kagura made. Kanna told me about it. She was really excited. No wonder uncle Sessh got mad at you dad." Shippou shook his head judgmentally.

"Runt, if you knew, why didn't you say anything?" Inuyasha scowled ignoring the furious look Sesshoumaru sent him "Guess that explains why it was in the freezer. Were you trying to keep it as long as possible? Well it was a good pie, so I guess I should give you something in return… Fine I made my mind. You're coming with us, and no protest." To Sesshoumaru's surprise, his younger half brother suddenly took a hold of his elbow, leading him towards the door of his apartment.

"Unhand me at once!" Sesshoumaru easily broke free of the hold his younger brother had on him.

"Feh! Look at that Shippou, looks like your uncle is scared of following us; who knew he could be such a chicken…" Inuyasha snickered.

Anger suddenly lit up the dog demon's amber eyes. A part of him was aware that his brother was trying to bait him, but his pride prevented him from not saying a thing.

"Fine I will accompany you, but do refrain from touching this Sesshoumaru again, or else...." The elder sibling flashed his claws close to Inuyasha's face, issuing a clear warning, but to his credit the hanyou did not even blink.

"Yeah yeah whatever. Let's just go." Without further ado the three Takahashi demons were out of Sesshoumaru's penthouse, and riding into Inuyasha's luxury car towards an undisclosed location. The light of glee in his brother's eyes made Sesshoumaru pretty sure that whatever Inuyasha had in mind, he would not like.

_'Why on earth did I fall for the idiot's trap?' _The dog demon sighed heavily.

"So you still aren't coming to the dinner? It's only a week and a half away…" The hanyou spoke not removing his eyes from the road in front of him.

"No. The change of management at the company is taking too much of my time." His brother lied without any effort.

"Yeah right…" The hanyou muttered. "Isn't it rather that you're afraid of seeing Kagura again?"

"Inuyasha…" Sesshoumaru growled. "I told you before do _not _speak of the subject. My relationship with Kagura is none of your concern. When the time is right I shall act accordingly, until then shut your mouth and do as you're told. Besides this Sesshoumaru is aware that your fiancée is truly the one behind the questioning."

"What?! Why are you dragging my wench into this?!" Inuyasha asked even though he knew how true his brother's words were. Had it not been for Kagome, he would not have had such an interest in his brother's love life.

The eyes of the fox demon opened wide in wonder. From where he was strapped in the back seat, he could feel tension rising in the car, and he hated it. Eager to have the topic of discussion changed, he decided to intervene.

"Uncle Sesshoumaru, are you going to at least help with the wedding stuff?" Even though due to the heritage of Kagome's family, the wedding between the hanyou and the priestess would be in the Shinto tradition, she had promised Shippou he would be able to be a ring bearer, in which he took great pride.

"Not everyone is as eager as your father to engage in activities relating to other people's love lives or matrimony." Sesshoumaru snorted.

"Oh I forgot about you and your hatred of marriage." His brother said thoughtfully.

"From what I have seen, it has not nearly as many benefits as people claim. To me marriage is definitely not an attractive thing..."

"Agh come on. You can't still be traumatized by the divorce of your parents…" Inuyasha sighed before adding "Anyways look at my parents. They were happy together for a long time."

"Why are we talking about this again?" It was Sesshoumaru's turn to sigh.

"Bah don't be sour because you are nowhere near my perfection." The half demon boasted.

"What perfection?" Sesshoumaru retorted clearly not amused.

Inuyasha chuckled, glad to have managed to get under his brother's skin "After dad had me he didn't even want any more children… proof enough of how satisfied he was with me."

"Maybe it was because he was afraid of having another dumb son…" Shippou offered.

"What did you say?!" With angered eyes Inuyasha turned his face to the side to glare at his son. Letting one more sigh escape his lips, Sesshoumaru kept a vigilant eye on the road. He even raised his hand to steady the wheel in case his brother got too involved into arguing with his son to drive carefully.

"Oh look dad we're here!" The young fox demon said relieved to have a distraction. Sesshoumaru frowned when he realized he had no idea where they were.

"Oh yeah. Keh! You're off the hook for now runt." He informed his son before parking his car. Ignoring the curious look Sesshoumaru sent him, Inuyasha took his son out of his car seat before walking towards the large white building he had parked in front of.

"Hey about what I said before about marriage, I mean it. You know people can be happy together. The reason why your parents split was that your mom is a greedy bitch." Inuyasha ignored the glare his brother sent him, and kept walking and talking. "You know it's the truth. You know my mom would have welcomed you as her son with opened arms had you let her." At Sesshoumaru's scoff the hanyou added "Bounds of blood mean nothing when love is involved…" The half demon's eyes could not help but stray to his son, who he was carrying.

"Since when are you such a philosopher?" The dog demon scoffed. He silently followed his half brother through the corridors of the building, wondering about the purpose of their visit. Despite his mocking exclamation, Sesshoumaru could not help but see the truth behind his brother's words; proof enough was his feelings for Kanna…

"They're here!" A childish scream suddenly broke the inu youkai away from his reflections. To his surprise he had suddenly found himself in front of a large room of children, all eagerly eyeing the newcomers.

"What is the meaning of this?" He whispered to Inuyasha's furry ear.

"Oh I didn't mention it, did I?" The hanyou chuckled. He put down Shippou who wasted no time running towards the other children, a large smile on his lips.

"Enlighten me." The elder brother said dryly.

"It's a party from the orphanage. The one I adopted Shippou from." The hanyou grinned as a little girl walked to him asking to be tossed in the air by him; Inuyasha quickly complied.

He had started being involved in the orphanage two years before, as they had hired the Takahashi agency for a campaign to promote adoption and donations, and ever since then Inuyasha had been close to the institution. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was run by his ex girlfriend Haruka, but rather that he felt close to the children. Not to mention that Shippou still had many of the children he had known since birth

"Hey Haruka. Looking good as usual." Inuyasha smiled in greeting before putting down Keiko, who he had been playing with, to the toddler's delight.

"I see you brought company." The young woman smiled as she walked towards the newcomer. "A pleasure to see you again Sesshoumaru. Do not take offense, but why are you here?"

"It is quite obvious that the idiot dragged me along to this ridiculous children birthday party…" Sesshoumaru remarked with a sigh as he spotted the large pink banner reading 'Happy birthday RIN!'

_'Why did I not take my own car? I then would have been able to get away from here as fast as possible.' _The inu youkai cursed under his breath, angered by his lack of anticipation.

"The more the merrier as they say. I hope you will be able to have fun. I have not forgotten how helpful the Takahashi agency has been to my orphanage. Thanks to your advertisement campaign we have benefited from so many very needed donations… I am forever in your debt." Haruka gave Sesshoumaru a low bow. She was aware that even if Inuyasha had been the one working on the campaign for her orphanage, he would have never been able to work for her for free unless Sesshoumaru had too agreed. After all any acceptance of a charity account had to go through the boss.

"Do not mention it. The Takahashi agency often gets involved in charity work, your situation had nothing particular." The dog demon brushed aside her gratitude. He could be civil, but it did not mean he had forgotten how she had shattered his brother. After only a few months of dating, Haruka had suddenly broken up with Inuyasha, breaking his heart, and pushing him into a depression, which only stopped when Kagome started working at the Takahashi agency. Seeing how she had managed to make his brother happy, was the main reason he had chose to ignore the in office romance; even though, it went against the company's rules.

_'In any case that rule is quite foolish. I should do something about it.' _He thought to himself. After all he too had violated the said rule just as his father had all those years ago. Now that he had busied himself with remodeling his agency, the dog demon felt that the obsolete rule should definitely be taken off the books.

"Uncle Sesshoumaru it's Rin's birthday. She's new here, but she is super shy, and she won't talk." Shippou explained pointing towards a little girl obediently and silently seated at a table. Among the chaos of the many children running around the room, jumping and trying to climb on Inuyasha, she easily stood out.

"Shippou I have told you about Rin's situation. Please do not tease her." Haruka scolded him just before a little boy grabbed her by the hand forcing her to take part in one of the many games taking place in the room.

"But I was not teasing." Shippou scowled.

"Stop pouting and come help me runt. I'm being taken over by your friends." Inuyasha chuckled, filled in fake consternation. He purposely let the children climb as high as his hip before making them slide off his legs. "Ha ah! Feh let's see who's got enough guts to get to my ears?!" He taunted them, wiggling the furry appendages. Many children cheered eager to take on the challenge.

Sesshoumaru watched the scene with fake boredom. As much as he tried he could never imagine himself letting children try to climb on him as his brother did. Not that with his frosty exterior any child, other than Kanna, would even dare request to play with him.

"Since the two of you seem to like silence so much why don't you go play with birthday girl?" Inuyasha suggested. He let out a victorious laugh when he managed to prevent his son from climbing up his leg. Heaving a heavy sigh the dog demon complied and sat next to the silent little girl.

_'I stay for five minutes then I grab a taxi and leave. This is certainly not a place for me.' _Sesshoumaru thought rolling his eyes, exasperation emanating from him in heavy waves. He almost groaned when he felt his earlier headache coming back.

The dog demon settled at the table, his scowling eyes looking around him. He did not even bother hiding his distaste at being there. He drummed his claws impatiently as he waited for five minutes to pass by. To his surprise something suddenly came in contact with his moving fingers. He looked down and saw one of Rin's colored pencils.

"Here." He extended his large clawed hand to give the little girl her pencil.

Rin jolted at his words, but her surprise was quickly changed to a big smile as she took the pencil from his outstretched hand. The dog demon despite himself and his foul mood returned her smile whole heartedly. She quickly turned back to her drawing, ignoring the children playing together around her.

His golden eyes rested on Rin who was busying herself by drawing. At seeing her he thought about a few things. Why was she not partaking in games with the other children? Or wolfing down some of the junk food offered at the table opposite of them. But what troubled him the most was that when seeing Rin he could not help but be reminded of Kanna and her enjoyment of drawing especially by his side. His thoughts then moved from Kanna to her mother, which made him hurt and angry.

Had he been honest, Sesshoumaru would have confessed that he had expected Kagura to be back by his side by now. When he had allowed her to leave his side, he was sure that the wind sorceress would have quickly come to realize that she was better with him by her side. He would have never allowed their 'break' to be in the first place if he had known that it would have lasted as long as it had.

A growl almost escaped his throat when he realized he had once more allowed his thoughts to drift to Kagura. Heaving a heavy sigh he thought back to his earlier discussion with Inuyasha about love and marriage and realized how much he had changed his mind in the past few months.

_'I used to think about marriage and family as inconveniences, but now I could actually see myself as a family man, but only with Kagura… maybe Inuyasha was right. Perhaps I should go drag her back home, no, that would not do considering her headstrong ways… what would be the best option to ensure her return?' _He silently discussed with himself. A sudden loud childish shriek made him cringe as it irritated his sharp demon ear.

He quickly realized that trying to sort out his feelings among a crowd of playful children screaming around him was next to impossible.

_'I have had enough. I'd rather be home working.' _On this thought Sesshoumaru took to his feet. To his surprise Rin suddenly latched onto his shirt, giving it a firm tug. He turned around an eyebrow raised in surprise. As he peered down into her shinning dark eyes, a smile almost appeared on his lips.

"Come visit Rin again!" She smiled brightly at him, a gap showing in between her little pearly teeth. The dog demon accepted her gift of the drawing she had made with a nod before walking out of the room. To his surprise he had tolerated, if not liked Rin. In some ways she actually reminded him of Kanna, in her silent ways, gentle words and natural cuteness.

_'Unlike other children she like Kanna at least does not beg for constant attention nor scream or irritate me.' _He thought on his way to the door. After spending time with Kanna or even Shippou he knew the importance children attached to drawing they made, so he carefully folded Rin's art piece and placed it in his pocket.

As he left he did not even pay attention to the fact that the room had suddenly become deathly quiet, or the astonished looks on everyone's face in the room, especially the way Inuyasha's eyes were bulging out of his head.

_'Well what do you know? I never guessed the bastard could actually have talent with kids…' _The amazed hanyou thought as he looked as his brother's retreating back.

* * *

A few miles away, someone was attentively spying on the scene that had just taken place. The face of the person intruding on the scene suddenly grew red with irritation. With a groan the person threw away the round object just used to spy on the scene.

_'How could he do that?...'_ The person thought disappointed.

**To be continued…**

A/N: New characters, old faces, and much more mystery. We'll see what happens next in **Crossing paths**. This was a super long chapter, which I hope you enjoyed. I feel so bad for saying it, but there probably won't be any update next week again. I am very very very busy, and I'd rather post quality chapters than something rushed. In any case things are going to start heating up soon!

As I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter I will post a little fic in honor of the annual celebration of love. It will be called **Battle Royale**.

_Summary: _They say love is a battlefield, but the fight can be sometimes unexpected. Sesshoumaru/Kagura one shot for Valentine's Day. I'll post it Sunday if I have time to finish it.

Lastly you guys all have to thank **ArtemisdelaLune **for the addition of Rin in the story. It may not have come about in a dramatic way, but she's here now… wonder if she'll stay ;)


	45. Crossing paths

_**Chapter 45: Crossing paths**_

A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating last week! Life has been getting in the way, but as always I will try my best not to make you wait longer than two weeks for an update :)

Thank you to my beloved reviewers:

**Sychotic**

**Soojinyeh **

**Sesshkagufan13 (Congrats on leaving the 550****th**** review!!!)**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic **

**Little25victor **

**FoxFire7**

**90sgurl **(I agree Rin is so cute. Maybe she'll pop in the story again)

**Sesskagufan13** (Happy belated birthday. Thanks for the nice words. Well Rin isn't going to be a crucial part of the story and there will soon be a reunion between our fave couple.)

Once again thank you to **Dogsfang** for the PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(Congrats on leaving the 70th review! We'll see about Sessh developing paternal instincts)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

Sesshoumaru looked at his watch and groaned when he realized he was going to be late for his appointment. He quickly sat up from behind his desk and put his jacket on.

_'If I rush I might be able to make it. Though I probably will have to come back to the office afterwards, I am getting behind on the campaign for that damn jeans company.'_

His reflection was cut short when someone opened the door to his office widely and walked in.

"Hum you're leaving the office pretty early today, what's up?" None other than Inuyasha exclaimed truly surprised. He had come to bring a file to Sesshoumaru himself since his brother had yet to acquire a secretary, and that he had given Kagome the afternoon off, which she had decided to spend with her mother.

"I have a meeting that is all." The dog demon tried walking past his brother to get to the door, but a grinning Inuyasha side stepped to plant himself just in front of him.

"Move aside." He sighed. Even though his tone was not threatening, Inuyasha knew his brother enough to know that when annoyed he could really cause harm.

"You know if you're going to see _Rin_, you can tell me." The half demon smiled. Noticing his brother's surprise he added "Wondering how I know? Well Haruka and I may not be together anymore, but we still talk. Not to mention that I still help around at the orphanage."

"Kagome will be thrilled to know about that, but I fail to see what it has to do with this Sesshoumaru." He declared not willing to recognize his little secret had been found.

"Feh! Don't waste your time. The wench already knows, and she has volunteered at the orphanage as well. Seems like you're not willing to speak it aloud, but I don't mind. Haruka has told me about your visits to Rin. Three visits in just two weeks? Looks like you're getting quite taken with the kid? Reminds me of how I used to be with Shippou." Inuyasha remarked thoughtfully. He crossed his arms over his chest and observed his brother, waiting for a reaction.

"I have become her mentor at Haruka's request. You have no need to look beyond this. Unlike you I have no wish to adopt, or become a father." Even as the words left his mouth, Sesshoumaru felt like they rung false. In the past he had even hated only the idea of children, but his opinion had changed the moment he had met Kanna. In addition he was also getting quite taken with Rin. As his brother had said ever since her birthday party, he had visited the six years old girl three times.

The first time had not been because he had wanted to, but since then he had visited the little girl twice of his own volition. He could still remember his own surprise at how everything had come about.

***Flashback***

"I am sorry for asking you to come here Sesshoumaru-sama. To be honest I am quite surprised by my decision." Haruka smiled politely. She and the dog demon were seated at her office desk.

_'No more than I am…'_ He thought to himself before speaking aloud. "Why have you asked to see me? If you do not mind, I have a meeting in an hour." The dog demon commented looking at his watch. He had taken advantage of his lunch break to visit the orphanage, but he still had to hurry back to work. His reshuffling of the agency was demanding for him to be more present at work, which he did not entirely mind since it gave him a nice distraction from the gap the absence of Kagura and Kanna had created in his life.

"Yes. Of course. I do not know if you are aware, but we are always welcoming of volunteers to spend time with the children and mentor them..." She paused trying to sort her thoughts, and think of a best way to make her words clear. "If I may ask, do you know how the adoption of Shippou by your brother went?" The head of the orphanage asked.

She was unsure if her idea was good due to the fact that when she had dated the hanyou he had told her a lot about his stoic brother and his anti social tendencies.

"Yes of course. Shippou was his mentee before becoming his son. Though I do not see what it has to do with my presence here." Sesshoumaru was at first sure that Haruka had called him to ask for a donation, which he would be more than willing to give, but now he was not so sure.

"Yes precisely. Here we welcome every mentor we can have since due to our limited resources every child does not get to have all the attention he or she needs. Inuyasha has been a mentor here for a long time. He has really helped children build up their self esteem, and brought them a lot. He has the required qualities to help the children, and in a way I believe you do too." Haruka's smile grew when she noticed the dog demon's incredulous amusement. Trying to get rid of her still present hesitation, she nervously shook her heavy bright red mane.

"What exactly do you want from me?" He asked her. His golden gaze strayed around the room to observe it. The young woman's office was relatively small, but she had managed to make it look warm. Behind her, on the wall was placed a large board with pictures of all the children her orphanage had helped at some point. The sight was actually quite impressive to Sesshoumaru. He had heard the story of how Haruka, a wealthy orphan herself had decided to invest all of the money inherited from her deceased parents to realize her life's dream: help children. She had worked as a social worker for a long time before creating and running an orphanage to help the less favored children of the city.

"Well I was getting to that. Rin is a special child, and I believe she could benefit from having a positive influence in her life…"

"Let me guess." He cut her. "You believe this influence could be me?" He supplied surprised.

"Yes indeed. Strangely you seem to have a formidable effect on Rin. Before meeting you she had not even spoken a word." Haruka explained a small satisfied smile on her lips. Then as she noticed the surprise in the golden eyes of the dog demon she explained further. "Rin is a child who has experienced a lot of pain. She and her parents got in a car accident a year ago; she unfortunately was the only survivor, and this is how she ended up in our care. Due to the trauma of the accident she had lost the ability to speak. On a physical level she was fine, but on an emotional one… Despite our best efforts she had refused to speak or interact with anyone."

"I am the first person she spoke to in a year?! Why?" The last question was more to himself. While waiting for Haruka's answer he thought about Rin. As much as he tried to overlook it, he had quite liked the little girl. It was true that in many ways she reminded him of Kanna, but there was more to it. He could easily remember her bright smile when she had given him her drawing and how it had made him happy in turn.

"I have no answer to this question. Something about you must have connected with Rin. She has always kept to herself, but she had no trouble interacting with you; she seems to like you a lot. I actually called you because she has asked about you several times."

"Rin has been speaking?" He inquired, genuinely interested in her well being.

"Oh yes." Haruka suddenly seemed very pleased. "Ever since she started talking to you, she has been unable to keep quiet. So, what do you say? Do you wish to become her mentor?" The young woman turned her head to the side, letting her dark eyes stay on a picture of an unsmiling Rin.

"I understand your idea, but unfortunately I do not think I can be of much help. I am a busy businessman, and do not have the time to _babysit_ a child. Goodbye Miss Fujibayashi." With one last nod, Sesshoumaru stood up.

Having not anticipated a negative answer from the dog demon, she cursed slightly under her breath. She had thought that like Inuyasha he would find it in his heart to help a child in need.

_'Then again Inuyasha had said that his brother could be cold and unfeeling…'_

Wanting to get him to stay and hear her out, or at least change his mind, she decided to try tugging on an emotional string.

"Sesshoumaru-_sama_ please wait. At least think about it. I truly think you could help Rin a lot… I… I already told her you would come visit the orphanage soon, she is looking forward to it very much." She quickly blurted out.

He stopped in his progression towards the door at her words; though, he did not turn around to face her. He silently mulled over her what she had just said, and decided to give in.

"I make no promises, but I will think about your proposition. Although from now on do refrain from making promises on this Sesshoumaru's behalf." He sent her an evil glare. She knew that he did not like her ever since she had suddenly broken up with his brother, to devote herself to her orphanage, but had hoped he would be able to forgive her considering that the hanyou was now happily engaged. Without bothering to say another word he left the room.

_'As much as I hate Haruka's machinations, I do not wish to disappoint another little girl.' _He thought to himself, remembering Kanna's teary dark eyes the last time he had seen her.

***End of Flashback***

"Yes. I am going to the orphanage to see my mentee… Rin." Sesshoumaru admitted glaring at his brother, daring him to say anything or mock him.

"Ah good for you. I just hope you won't mess her up. Mentoring is an important thing ya know. Kids really count on you…" The hanyou shared his wisdom.

"Thank you for the unnecessary advice, it is true that you have done such a good job with Shippou. As proof we can take how he listens to you so much…" Sesshoumaru chuckled as he walked outside of his office. Not paying attention to Inuyasha spluttering curses at him.

He was supposed to take Rin out to the park, and then for ice cream, and wished to be on time. He was aware that despite how she had tried to hide it, she had been devastated the one time he had been late for their meeting. At remembering her large chocolate eyes shining in unshed tears, his heart clenched.

_'It seems that the little girl is getting to me…'_

* * *

The wind sorceress suddenly turned around to look over her shoulder. She once again could not shake the feeling that someone was watching her. Ever since the afternoon she and Sesshoumaru had argued and gone their separate way, she on several occasion had felt a presence hover over her. She was afraid Naraku had found her, but since no one had come forward to threaten or hurt her and her daughter, Kagura had pushed away her fears and decided to overlook the tiny shivers of worry racing down her spine.

She sighed and simply decided to ignore her feeling. "I must be losing my mind…" She murmured, briefly shutting her crimson eyes and taking a deep breath.

Turning back again Kagura pushed her cart further along the aisles of the supermarket, attentively following along her list of groceries. She had just finished her work at the center, and before going to the restaurant for her night shift decided to take advantage of her break to get some groceries with her daughter. She intended to try out a new recipe that she wanted to serve at the dinner party Mrs. Higurashi was hosting for the engagement of her daughter to Inuyasha.

'_She is so stressed out about this dinner thing that I better be sure about what I'm serving…'_ The wind sorceress thought to herself with a smile. To thank her friend's mother for her kindness Kagura had agreed to help Mrs. Higurashi cook for her dinner celebration.

"So honey what's next on the list? Well I believe it's strawberry pocky!" The wind sorceress tried to get her daughter to smile.

"No thank you." Kanna turned her head to the side. She was sitting inside the shopping cart her mother was pushing, a sad expression replacing her usual dispassionate one. In order to try to help her stay entertained Kagura had even allowed her daughter to take along her favored mirror, which she was turning around in her small hands.

"Honey what's wrong? You've been upset since Saturday." Kagura asked pushing some of Kanna's white bangs out of her eyes. _'And you were doing so much better.'_

"I'm okay." The little girl forced a smile for her mother's benefit.

"Okay. If you say so…" The wind sorceress frowned just as she resumed walking. Despite her daughter's words she did add four boxes of pocky to her cart. _'I'm sure that she'll love sharing them with Shippou when I drop her at the shrine.'_

"Oh my what a coincidence." The wind sorceress heard a familiar feminine voice say behind her. When she turned around she was surprised to see that it was none other than the elegant older demoness that had visited the shrine two weeks ago after Tanuki when she had been working.

"Hello." Kagura said as she smiled politely. Not willing to leave her daughter unattended she turned her cart around, placing it in between her and the newcomer, to have the little girl clear in her eye sight. Something about the woman just did not sit right with her…

"Aw could this be your daughter?" The woman asked, her crimson eyes suddenly looking misty even though her polite smile was still in place.

"Yeah. Her name's Kanna, she's almost three years old now. By the way my name's Kagura." She introduced herself extending her hand towards the stranger.

"What has gotten into me? I seem to have forgotten my manners. I should have introduced myself sooner. My name is Sakura Fujimori. It is a pleasure to see you again." The woman's smiling eyes travelled from Kagura to Kanna. She quickly cradled Kagura's hand in hers rather than shook it. A surprised look from the wind sorceress made her release the trapped limb.

Despite herself Kagura could not help but let her crimson eyes roam over the woman in front of her. She was once again dressed in designer clothes and shoes, and was even wearing a pair of gloves matching her pale purple leather clutch purse.

_'Not quite the kind of clothes other people wear for shopping around here…' _The wind sorceress thought. After all she was greatly surprised that a woman as smartly dressed as Sakura even came all the way to her small neighborhood super market to shop for groceries.

"Your daughter is so beautiful. She actually reminds me of one of my two sons. They do look alike. Here I have a picture… He's my youngest… Hakudoushi I think I mentioned him earlier…" Sakura quickly fished her wallet out her purse and took out a picture of a smirking teenager.

At seeing the young man, Kagura was speechless. Other than his pale lavender eyes he looked exactly like her daughter. The resemblance between the young man and Kanna were obvious; they both had creamy pale skin and white hair, but the similarities went beyond their coloring as they even seemed to share some facial features.

_'I thought Sakura looked like Kanna, but her son is like her spitting image in an older male version… that's just crazy.' _Kagura's crimson gaze once again moved to her daughter's seated form.

"I hope he was successful in his exams." The wind sorceress chocked out when her ability to speak was back.

"Oh yes. I am so glad you managed to remember him. Yes he was successful. Thank you for asking." Sakura's smile grew, happiness spreading through her.

The older demoness suddenly jolted as she felt a small surge of demonic power. Her deep crimson eyes moved from Kagura to her daughter. She raised an eyebrow in surprise before speaking "Kagura my dear I am amazed by your daughter's abilities. Despite her young age she seems to have tremendous potential." She lowered her gaze to the little girl in the shopping cart between her and Kagura.

At hearing the woman's cryptic words the wind witch also lowered her eyes to look at her daughter. Her eyes opened wide when she noticed that Kanna's dark eyes were locked on the small mirror in her hands, but what shocked her the most was that instead of its usual reflective appearance Kanna's mirror showed an actual image.

"What the hell?! Kanna what are you doing?" Even as she spoke the words Kagura could not help but stare into the mirror. Her heart clenched when she saw an image of Sesshoumaru sitting in one of the restaurants not far from his agency, one where the two of them had often shared a meal. What caused her the most pain was not seeing him eating in one of their special places, but rather the fact that he had company. In fact despite the small size and poor quality of the image she could clearly see that he was seated opposite a beautiful demoness with long silver hair mirroring his own.

"Is this for real?!" She whispered reaching her fingers towards her daughter's mirror.

"Don't!" Sakura exclaimed as she shot her hand forward to stop the wind sorceress's action.

"What? Why? I don't understand what's going on?" Kagura questioned even though she refrained from going against what she was told. She was afraid and unsure of what was going on.

"Nothing to worry about dear. Just like Kanna I am a void youkai, so I know what I am talking about. Even though she is quite young your daughter is simply making use of her powers. It will stop soon." The words were barely out of Sakura's mouth that the image inside Kanna's mirror fizzled and died away, to the young girl's displeasure.

"There there as you can see it's all gone now. It's really harmless, kind of like a television." The older demoness said soothingly trying to push away Kagura's sudden discomfort. "It appears Kanna cannot control her powers yet, so when she starts using them, you should refrain from touching her unless you wish to have some of your demonic energy be stolen… With time and a little training she will however be just fine." Sakura smiled proudly down at the little girl who was peering into her mirror wishing it to show her some more.

"No one taught me how to use my powers…" Kagura murmured. She could still recall how she had cut her fingers with wind blades more than once when she had tried to control her powers in her youth. Ever since she had managed to handle them she had however gotten used not to use them too much.

_'Anyways if I used them Naraku would beat me up, so it's not like I had a choice…'_ She thought to herself. Without her father's 'influence' she would have probably not used them so much anyway as nowadays most, if not all demons refrained from using their powers to blend in better into human society.

"Kanna-chan I don't know since when you started using your powers, but I want you to stop for now… or I'll take your mirror away. Now honey we'll talk about this power business later on." Kagura was suddenly feeling weary and was not sure how to handle the situation.

"Also do not be too hard on her now. Spying on people when you have the power to do so might be a little too tempting, Kanna dear, but your mother is right you shouldn't do it. However Kagura dear taking away her mirror wouldn't be a good idea." Sakura said with a charming smile. She then leaned forward to smooth a gentle caress over the little girl's cheek.

Seeing the woman who was a complete stranger to her act so familiarly with her daughter sobered Kagura from her thoughts of Kanna's budding powers, and the sight of Sesshoumaru with a possible replacement. "I don't think you are in any position to tell me how to raise my daughter." Kagura said dryly.

"Well I'm sorry. I did not wish to offend you, but rather help. I am only giving you my expertise as a void youkai. It seems Kanna has bonded her powers to her mirror, so it must be very important to her… If you want I could help Kanna learn more about her powers." Sakura offered hope simmering in her ruby gaze.

"No thank you I can manage on my own." Kagura said taking a step back, moving the cart, and effectively her daughter, away from Sakura. "I'll think we'll leave now. We've had a long day. Goodbye Mrs. Fujimori." The wind sorceress said ready to leave.

"Please Kagura call me Sakura. I hope we will see each other again soon. Goodbye to you too Kanna." With one last smile Sakura turned around and left.

_'I don't know what's up with this woman, but she is a little strange…' _Kagura thought just as she started walking. She before reached inside her cart to take Kanna in her arms. She gave one more glance over her shoulder anxious to see if Sakura had followed her.

"Baby when did she start using your mirror to… look at Sesshoumaru?" Kagura refused to use the word 'spy' due to its negative connotation.

The little girl was reluctant to answer, but a glare from her mother encouraged her to speak. "Two weeks…" Kanna could not help but think back to the first time she had seen Sesshoumaru in her mirror. She had wanted to see him and he had magically appeared in her mirror. What she had saw had hurt her a lot, and slightly made her regret her wish to see the dog demon. What her trusty mirror had shown her was an image of Sesshoumaru drawing with an unknown dark haired little girl, just like he used to with her. Seeing them together Kanna felt an incredible feeling of jealousy.

_'Did he replace me?' _She asked herself, her heart feeling heavy and tears brimming in her eyes once again. After seeing Sesshoumaru with the little girl, Kanna had sworn she would do everything to get the dog demon back with her mother, and back in her life, where he deserved.

_'That sure explains Kanna's strange behavior lately. I wonder what she saw… no I shouldn't_ _think like that.'_ The wind sorceress shook her head to dispel her thoughts.

"Promise me you will stop doing that, okay. It's wrong. How would you react if someone looked at you when you didn't know and saw all your secrets? You'd be unhappy, right?" Kagura asked her.

"Yes." Kanna agreed reluctantly.

"Well you don't want Sesshoumaru to be angry, do you?" She pressed further.

"No." Only the thought of it made Kanna scared.

"So you'll stop using your mirror now, right?"

"Yes. I promise. I'm sorry mommy." Kanna breathed out as she buried her face in the crook of her mother's neck, seeking warmth and comfort.

"I am sure you are honey." Kagura smiled pressing a big loving kiss to her daughter's forehead. "Come on let's go home and eat some pocky and read some books. We still have some time to spend together before I have to go work at the restaurant." Kagura faked cheerfulness even if she truthfully was struggling with the idea that her daughter's powers were developing so fast. She had pushed away from her mind the hurtful image of Sesshoumaru with another woman as her worry over her daughter was more important to her.

_'There's no way I'd be able to help her control her powers, and I can't afford to get her a private teacher. And if I want to use of those governments programs to help young demons develop, we'd stay on the waiting list forever not to mention that void demons are rare to begin with…' _The wind sorceress was not sure how she was going to get her daughter help, but she knew she would, she had to.

"Okay!" Kanna smiled brightly as she allowed her mother to put her back in the shopping cart. The two finished shopping quickly, after all they had some fun to go have at home, and Kagura intended to find a quick solution to another problem she had just been presented with.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Next time Kagura gets some comfort and advice, but from who? The next chapter will be named **Soothing words** in which the engagement dinner will take place. Wonder if things will go well?

If you haven't already be sure to check out my Valentine's Day story!

**Battle Royale: **They say love is a battlefield, but the fight can be sometimes unexpected. Sesshoumaru/Kagura one shot for Valentine's Day. I'll post it Sunday if I have time to finish it.

I'll try my best to update next week!


	46. Soothing words

_**Chapter 46: Soothing words**_

A/N: Yes yes you are not dreaming, it is an early update!!!

Hello dear readers. Here's the next chapter. It's more of a transitional one. After all we'll soon enter the last phase of the story…

Thank you to my beloved reviewers:

**Sychotic**

**Soojinyeh **

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor **

**FoxFire7**

**Shoushin**

**Veneer of vanity (Always great to get a new reviewer)**

**Sesskagufan13** (The identity of the mysterious Sakura will be revealed soon. And the love birds seeing each other again? Well we'll see about that lol)

Once again thank you to **Dogsfang** for the PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(Is Kagura Sakura's long lost relative?... you know I can't answer that.. yet. Will the dinner go well? You know my writing well enough to guess lol)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

It was a Saturday evening and Sesshoumaru was sitting on his couch, watching an old movie. He was bored and wished to distract himself. After all he was aware that at the same time the engagement dinner Mrs. Higurashi was hosting was about to start any time. What bugged him was that Kagura would attend, and that he wanted to see her.

The dog demon reached over to his coffee table to take his cup of tea. In it was a green brew, which was as close to one of Izayoi's natural remedies his personal physician had ever managed to get.

_'Again one of those horrible headaches. Strangely when Kagura and Kanna had been living with me my migraines had eased.'_ He drained the rest of his cup and tried focusing on his movie.

To his surprise he suddenly heard a knock at his door. Sighing he went to answer it.

"Inuyasha?! What are you doing here? I grow weary of your visits." He told his brother. The hanyou was on his doorstep carrying his son in his arms.

"Feh! It's not like I'm happy to see you. I came here for a reason."

"Which would be…" The older Takahashi brother trailed off.

"Keh! Isn't it evident? I came to pick you up." The half dog demon stated as he stepped into his brother's penthouse. "What?! You aren't dressed yet?!"

"I am obviously not attending." Sesshoumaru scoffed. He then proceeded to push his brother away, trying to shove him through the door.

"Told you he was not going to come." Shippou said amused. The young fox demon was securely tucked inside his father's strong arm. "Dad you shouldn't let mom convince you into doing stuff. It never works out for you." The fox demon knew that it was Kagome who had forced his father to fetch his brother for the engagement dinner party.

"Goodnight and have fun." Sesshoumaru declared as he tried to push the door of his apartment close with more force, ignoring his brother's attempts to thwart him.

"Hey wait. At least let me give you your daily update now instead of bugging me over the phone tomorrow."

"You already told me about her enrollment in school, and her helping your future mother in-law with the cooking tonight."

"Are you talking about Kagura?" Shippou asked eager to find out something new.

"Silence runt. You better not talk to anyone about this unless you want your uncle Fluffy to hurt you, and I wouldn't protect you for sure…" Inuyasha warned his son. Shippou's green eyes opened wide in shock before he answered.

"I didn't hear a word!" For good measure the child even placed his hands over his pointy ears.

"What is it you wanted to say little brother?" The dog demon asked trying not to sound as interested as he truly was. He however stopped trying to shove his brother out of his penthouse.

"Well okay fine I have nothing new to tell you. The wench just wanted for you to come according to her it would please Kagura."

"And Kanna too!" Shippou volunteered.

"Didn't I tell you not to talk?!" The half demon asked his son, who quickly shut his mouth again.

"Goodbye." Not bothering to say anymore Sesshoumaru closed the door on his brother and nephew.

"Get off your sorry ass and do something already. You're pathetic!" Despite the thickness of the door Inuyasha's words came to Sesshoumaru's sensitive ears easily.

_'Annoyances.'_ The dog demon thought to himself as he walked back to his couch to watch the rest of his movie. Unfortunately for him he could not find any interest in it anymore. In spite of himself his brother's words kept swirling in his head. He wondered for the hundredth time if he was handling the 'Kagura' situation in the best way possible.

_'Maybe that idiot of Inuyasha is right and I should be more aggressive to get back Kagura…' _He thought to himself. Still unsure about the best course of action he simply sat back down and tried to concentrate on his movie, and ignore the words inside his head which pointed out his will to attend the dinner.

* * *

As her hands worked fast at chopping, Kagura's mind wandered to the classes she had just signed for. She had been shocked when she had received an acceptance letter to the scholarship she had applied for, but as soon as she received it she had wasted no time to register at the local college for the summer semester which had started only a few days ago.

Without the worry of being able to afford her tuition, which the scholarship would cover in full, she felt a weight lift off her shoulder. After much consideration and an appointment with her academic counselor, Kagura had decided to take interior design as a major and architecture as a minor. Her decision had mainly derived from the time she had spent with Sesshoumaru, and what he had made her discover about art and architecture.

_'I'm looking forward to most of my classes though the Western history one might prove to be challenging; I've never been good at history. Remembering all these dates and events is a hassle…'_ She thought to herself worriedly. After attending her history course only twice she could already tell that she was going to have a hard time with it. However her major courses seemed to be a lot of fun.

_'To think that if I hadn't met Sessh I would've never known about design and architecture…'_ She thought to herself, heaving a sigh.

She shook her head trying to rid her mind of her classes. Other than her future course load what weighed on her mind was that she was not going to be seeing Sesshoumaru tonight. A part of her had been convinced until the end that he was going to come to the dinner party of Mrs. Higurashi. The arrival of Inuyasha and Shippou without him had however managed to wipe away all her hopes.

_'It's maybe because of me that he didn't come. He probably didn't want to see me. I did tell him I'd be attending. That's too bad because it is a family celebration in which he should participate… Perhaps he really is mad at me. I had hoped that maybe tonight we would have been able to talk and maybe… just maybe make up.' _The wind sorceress thought to herself, her heart feeling heavy. Now that she had managed to be independent financially and to go back to school, she could see nothing standing in the way of resuming her relationship with Sesshoumaru, or at least attempt to.

_'That is if he still wants me and if he can understand me. Maybe I pushed him too much, and wasted too much time. Maybe it's simply too late for him…'_ The sad thought made her stop cutting her vegetables, her crimson gaze staring blankly in front of her. _'I didn't ask him to wait for me or anything, so if he got with someone else I only have myself to blame.' _She thought remembering how after one of their early arguments the dog demon had wasted no time to go to a bar and picked up a stranger to bring home for the evening. The thought of him with another woman, in the bed they had shared, hurt Kagura as if someone had jut squeezed her heart.

"You seem thoughtful Kagura are you okay?" Hana asked using the motherly tone that always managed to melt the wind sorceress's heart.

"Yeah…" Kagura answered meekly. Not willing to worry Mrs. Higurashi, she went back to chopping down vegetables for the beef stew she was making. It was a recipe the whole Higurashi family had adored so she was making it for the engagement dinner.

At her vague words the older woman stopped icing her cake and turned to look thoughtfully at the wind witch in her kitchen. During the past month she had come to see Kagura as some sort of daughter and truly cared for her.

"I was once told it was easier to speak about one's problems to get them to go away. Would you like to try?" She asked gently. Since she had not received any tangible answer earlier she decided to change tactic and try pressing on Kagura's emotional feelings.

"It's nothing. I'm just worried about my classes it's all." Kagura slightly distorted the truth. She truly cared for Mrs. Higurashi and did not want to worry her; especially on a day this special to her.

"Hum I am not trying to pry, but maybe there is more to it… Maybe Sesshoumaru Takahashi has something to do with your worried expression…" Hana had for a long time hesitated about breeching the subject, but she could not go along without trying to help Kagura ease her mind. She had easily identified the disappointment on the wind sorceress's face when Inuyasha and Shippou had come without Sesshoumaru, and seeing Kagura ache hurt her. "I am so sorry. I am sure you would have liked to see him tonight…"

"Hum am I this transparent?" Kagura asked as she turned away from the kitchen counter she was working on to look at the older woman. After being found out she simply could not keep working on her vegetables.

"If it is any comfort I am a very perceptive woman. Do you want to talk about it?" She tried pressing again.

"Sure I wanted to see Sessh tonight, but what hurts me the most is that it's my fault he's not here to begin with. I've been stupid. I've hurt everyone from Kanna to Sesshoumaru and myself… I've messed up everything. I told him I'd be here tonight, and he obviously went out of his way not to come. I wanted to make things right… but it seems that the more I try the more messed up things get. It's gotten to the point where I wonder about my own decisions." Kagura felt a little awkward about pouring out her heart to the older woman, but her friend's mother somehow had managed to make her trust her enough to tell her about her problems.

_'Besides I do need someone to talk to. Yura is off god knows where with her new husband, and I can't tell Kagome about it since she tells everything to her future husband, who despite his claims is close to his brother…' _Kagura thought to herself.

"Do you want to get back with Sesshoumaru?" Hana asked cautiously. She was not entirely sure about what Kagura was referring to when it came to her 'decisions,' but even if she was not told everything she still wanted to help the wind sorceress sort through her thoughts as much as she could.

"Yes I do. I… care about him… a lot. But I made a mess of things. I've told him pretty mean things before I left, and I ignored his feelings…"

_'Not to mention that he must feel like I gave up on him… or that I gave up on us. He probably even replaced me…'_ Even if she hoped the probability of this being true was low, thinking about it hurt. The image of him with another woman she had seen in Kanna's mirror was not helping settling her mind.

"Do not be so hard on yourself. I am sure you have been trying your best." Hana tried cheering her up. "Knowing you I am sure that you have only been trying to protect your daughter as any mother would."

"Look at where that got me. Kanna is hurting, I can tell." Kagura thought back to the fact that her daughter had resorted to spying on Sesshoumaru using her powers. _'She missed him so much and wanted to see him so much that she actually resorted to using her powers. After hearing her talk with Sesshoumaru the day we went to pick up her Kuma-chan, I should have guessed something like this would happen. But once again I failed my daughter…'_

"She may be young, but Kanna is very intelligent. You should not worry about her so much. She will be just fine. Besides you need to think about your own happiness as well."

"My happiness?" Kagura echoed in surprise.

"Oh yes. As much as you as a mother should put your child first, you should not forget about yourself. It is easy to lose yourself into your responsibilities, instead of thinking about your own well being. You are a person who needs to find happiness as well."

"Compared to Kanna's my own happiness doesn't matter." The wind sorceress said with a sigh. She felt like she would be able to be happy as long as her daughter was.

_'She already lucked out by being born in Naraku's family, and having me as a mom, so the least I can do is make sure she's happy. By getting involved with Sesshoumaru before thinking of possible consequences I might have hurt my daughter; however, from now I'll definitely put her first.'_

"Oh no I do not wish to hear you speak like this. Kagura it is not too late for you to find happiness. You are so young, and have such a bright future in front of you; I am sure of it." Mrs. Higurashi smiled encouragingly.

'_Maybe Hana is right. There must be a way for both Kanna and I to be happy at the same time.' _Kagura thought to herself. _'I know that living with Sesshoumaru made both of us happy. Although I screwed up everything _again_ by leaving him…' _

"Sometimes I feel like I wanted too much. I feel like I traded happiness for independence. I wanted to rely only on myself, and for that I pushed away one of the most important person to me." The wind sorceress said sadly.

"Why do I hear guilt and regret talking here? You cannot fool me. I can vividly recall the joy on your face when you told us about taking classes at the college. There is nothing wrong with going after success and independence and enjoying them. Moreover you can have it both ways. It is possible to have _both_ independence from a man and happiness."

"I guess I do enjoy being independent." Kagura relented, a small smile etching on her ruby lips. "Although I never could have guessed it would be so bittersweet. I imagined that all I would need would be my own job, my own apartment or even being able to have a college education. But I'm still not satisfied. I feel like there's something missing."

"Oh my poor dear, finding your own way to happiness is one of the most difficult things to do. I know it firsthand. I had never lived on my own, and I married young. I went directly from my parents' house to my husband's. Kyousuke, my husband had always been the bread winner and the one to take care of the shrine. After he died in a car accident I was afraid. Suddenly I had two very young children to care and provide for, not to mention that I also had to look after the shrine. Even Matsu was worried. He was already old and since his only son had died and that his grandson was but a baby he was convinced the end of his family heirloom had come. He even entertained the idea of selling the shrine…" Hana said a frown on her face as she remembered the sad times.

"Really? He is so attached to it. I mean he is always going on and on about how long the shrine has been in his family." Kagura gasped in shock. Her ears were still ringing from the lashing her friend's grandfather had given her when she had bumped a wooden chair into a wall of the well house the previous week when she had moved furniture around. He had gone on to explain to her how precious the wall was since the well house had been in his family for more than 500 years, before the city itself had even been constructed, and that non humanoid demons still roamed the streets.

"Oh yes. He was convinced that a young mother of two would never be able to manage his family institution and two young children. My Kyousuke loved this shrine and the home and family we had made in it, so I decided to work hard to take care of everything in his stead. It was not easy, and I had to work hard and sacrifice a lot, but I have done well I believe. I have two wonderful children, and the shrine is doing better than ever. He might never say it aloud, but even Matsu was quite surprised by how greatly we worked together, and how well we were able to turn the shrine in a profitable business."

Hana paused to smile. "Now in retrospect I can say that raising my children in the shrine of their father's family was my way to find happiness. This is what you have to do too Kagura. Find your own path to happiness, and if I may say so I think that it would not consist of only being independent, but would also involve a certain dog demon…After all you are a beautiful and very young woman, who definitely should not stay alone for the rest of her days." Hana said the last sentence with a mischievous twinkle in her dark eyes.

_ 'Sesshoumaru being my path to happiness?...'_ Kagura could not help but chuckle. Despite herself she could not help but think about what Hana had told her. "I don't know if I'll be able to get back with him anyway. It might be too late now." She finally voiced one of her greatest fears, something that had been on her mind for a long time. Was it too late to mend things with Sesshoumaru?

"You have no need to worry too much Kagura dear. Whatever you feel like you did wrong, Sesshoumaru will forgive you. If he cares about you as much as I suspect he does, he will. He would not be able to hold such a grudge."

"Have you met him?" Kagura snorted. She still vividly remembered Sesshoumaru's cold, antisocial and unfeeling disposition when they had first met several months ago.

"Oh yes on several occasions. Despite his frosty ways he is quite a charming young man. Just like his brother it is clear that when he cares about someone he is willing to go to great lengths for that person. He surely understands why you decided to leave. Besides knowing you, I am sure you had legitimate reasons to do so. Therefore you should not try to shoulder all the blame for the situation. The next time you see Sesshoumaru try your best to make amends with him. I am sure that everything will work out then."

Hana let a secretive smile appear on her lips. Despite how much they had tried to hide it, she had found out about the surveillance of the wind sorceress Sesshoumaru had organized through his brother. One afternoon when the hanyou had come to drop off his son for a play date with Kanna while Kagura was working at the restaurant, Hana had accidently overheard Inuyasha give his brother his daily update. Even though she wanted nothing more than to alleviate Kagura's worries, and tell her about Sesshoumaru's plan, she had been sworn to secrecy by the younger Takahashi brother. It was then and there that Hana realized how much Sesshoumaru must truly love Kagura.

The older woman smiled gently when she noticed the unconvinced look on the wind sorceress's face.

'_Ah my dear Kagura something tells me that soon your reservations will be proven wrong.' _The older woman thought to herself. She then reached towards the wind sorceress to give her a tight loving and healing hug.

"I only hope you're right Hana." Kagura whispered as she gladly accepted the older woman's motherly hug. It had felt good to be comforted in her decisions and ideas, and to be encouraged.

_'I guess that's the kind of discussions mothers and daughters usually have… not something I am used to.' _Kagura thought to herself, a bittersweet smile on her lips.

They broke apart and Mrs. Higurashi took a few steps back to the kitchen counter where her cake lay forgotten. Just as silence settled in between them and that Kagura was worried about the air becoming stuffy or uncomfortable a shuffling sound came towards the kitchen. The two women turned around and were shocked to see a worried looking Kagome walk in carrying Kanna. Inuyasha was following with a teary eyed Shippou in his arms.

"What's going on?" Kagura asked as she walked towards her friend

"It hurts." Kanna said pointing at her chest, her dark eyes filled with tears. The little girl suddenly let out a cough, which caused a feeling of dread to rise into her mother.

"I know you told me about Kanna having pneumonia before, so when she started coughing I…" Kagome said with a quivering voice, handing the little girl to her mother.

"How long have you been hurting baby?" The wind sorceress asked her daughter as she walked past everyone to head towards the front door, hugging Kanna close to her chest.

"Not long." Kanna answered coughing some more.

"I need to get to that clinic… the one where Sessh took us before. I can't remember the name of it though." In her panic the wind witch had a hard time thinking straight. It was only when she approached the door that she realized she had no idea how to get to the clinic considering that it was a Sunday evening and that buses were scarce.

"Oi. I'm parked right in front. I'll give you a ride. The place he took you to must have been the private clinic. We can be there in fifteen minutes or so." The half demon said as he fished his car keys out of his pocket. "Kagome look after Shippou for a while."

"No I'm coming with you. I would be too worried otherwise. Mama can you look after Shippou?" Kagome asked turning towards her mother.

"Of course. Grandpa, Souta and I will stay behind with Shippou. You guys go on ahead, but do let me know about how things turn out." The older woman said tears rising in her eyes. She quickly took Shippou from his father's arms and worked on comforting the frightened child.

"I will pray that everything goes well and make a few healing talismans for Kanna." Matsu declared as Kagura, Inuyasha and his granddaughter walked past him and Souta. The old man had grown very attached to the little girl and feared for her health.

"Yeah. Don't bother about a thing except getting Kanna helped." Souta agreed.

"Inuyasha. Kagome. Let's go." Kagura said decisively as she went out of the door to the shrine's courtyard, her crying daughter in her arms.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Kanna is having a relapse? We'll see what Kagura will do. And what about Sesshoumaru? The next chapter will be named **Support system**. I intended to let you wonder, but I'll come out with it: Sesshoumaru and Kagura will (finally) see each other again next time! There probably won't be any updates next week though sorry!


	47. Support system

_**Chapter 47: Support system**_

A/N: He he I've been on a writing roll this week! An early update when I was not even planning to update? I surprise even myself lol. The super long paper I had due today was pushed back for a week, leaving me time to do writing I _actually_ enjoy.

Thank you to my dear reviewers for their kind words. You guys are my support system:

**Sychotic**

**Soojinyeh **

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor **

**FoxFire7**

**Sesskagufan13** (I understand your concern, and take no offense. I'll be careful not to rush the story. In any case I have plenty more planned. Notably with Naraku, ku ku ku.)

**Kagura's number one fan **(Will Mrs. Higurashi's words get through to Kagura? Will Sesshy decide he is done waiting? We'll see.)

**Kagu fan **(Thanks so much. It's always very nice to get new reviewers!)

Again thank you to **Dogsfang** for the PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(We'll see how Kanna is feeling, and what Sesshoumaru will decide to do.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"Don't worry Kanna-chan. Everything is going to be just fine." Kagura cooed gently to her daughter. The two were seated comfortably in the back of Inuyasha's red sports car. Kanna who was on her mother's lap welcomed the gentle words and caresses the wind sorceress bestowed on her.

"So when are ya going to call Sessh?" The hanyou asked raising his golden eyes to look at the two girls through his rear view mirror. He then cursed under his breath when a car honked him loudly for burning a red light. He was driving as fast as possible clearly ignoring the traffic signals. He usually was not a safe driver, but the worry he felt for the little girl made him even more reckless than usual. He cared for his son's best friend, but also imagining what his brother might do to him if something happened to Kanna while on his watch made him increase his speed.

"Why would I do that?" Kagura asked. She was too busy glaring at Inuyasha's head to notice the sudden look of longing on her daughter's face. Kanna snuggled into her mother, who readily tightened the hold she had on her.

"Keh! Are you dumb, or are you doing this on purpose?" Inuyasha snorted not amused, he after all did not wish to be the one to tell his brother that Kanna had fallen ill.

"Inuyasha! Do not call her names. Besides Kagura is worried about her child, be a little more sensitive." Kagome scolded him. She was seated in the front next to her fiancé, holding on tightly to her seat to protect herself from Inuyasha's wild driving.

"I don't see why I should call Sesshoumaru… since you're here I'm pretty sure I'll get access to the clinic easily." The wind sorceress lied blatantly. She was worried and could definitely use the dog demon's comforting presence, but she was apprehensive over a possible reunion. Even though she had not spoken to Mrs. Higurashi about it, Kagura had not been able to forget the image she had seen in her daughter's mirror a few days ago. The woman she had seen Sesshoumaru with was very attractive and it made Kagura feel insecure. Not to mention that she was not sure how the dog demon would react to being called since she left him after accusing him of being too involved in her life.

_'I know he cares about Kanna, but I don't want him to feel pressured to come or anything…' _She tried rationalizing her decision.

"Fine fine I'll tell you nicely this time. Sesshoumaru cares about you and your kid a lot, so he'd want to know if something happened." This was how close the half demon dared coming to revealing about his constant surveillance of Kagura for his brother.

"Stop talking and start driving faster." Kagura spat at him. She then gently pushed her daughter's snow white bangs out of her dark eyes.

_'Always harassing and abusing me. Why can't Sesshoumaru's wench realize how he cares about her. These two are so stupid.'_ Inuyasha thought to himself. He wanted to say so aloud, but the threatening look on his fiancée's face made him realize it would not be a good idea. _'Freaking creepy. It's like the wench can read my mind or something…' _

"Feh! We're finally here." Inuyasha declared aloud as soon as he parked his car in front of the private clinic.

As her crimson eyes looked outside the backseat window Kagura could not prevent a shiver of fright from running through her. She had wished never to be back here again, but was left without a choice once again. Without a word, the wind sorceress picked up her purse and her daughter before quickly heading towards the large building.

"You have no reason to worry baby. I'm sure you remember how nice the doctor was." Kagura said aiming to reassure her daughter, but the words brought more comfort to herself than to the young child.

"Keh! No wonder Sesshoumaru brought you here. He and Suikotsu go way back." Inuyasha remarked. The hanyou said as he stepped out of the car, Kagome hot on his heels. He extended his arms towards Kagura aiming to take Kanna from her, but the wind sorceress ignored him; she could, and wanted to carry her daughter herself. The hanyou did not react on her refusal; he too knew the need to protect his or her child every parent felt.

"Suikotsu?!" Kagura questioned not even stopping or slowing her stride towards the door of the private clinic. _'It couldn't be Jakotsu's friend who set up the scholarship.'_

"Yeah. Suikotsu Isha. Sesshoumaru invested money into his clinic, so he owes him big time. That's why I'm not surprised he brought you here if Kanna needed medical attention."

"Well the clinic is also where most of us employees of Takahashi agency get treated in case of illness of injury." Kagome puffed out; she was having a hard time keeping up with the two demons walking in front of her. Despite her long legs toned by years of climbing the stairs of the shrine, the two youkai had powerful strides and keeping up was hard.

"I see." Kagura breathed out as she walked past the glass doors of the clinic.

'_Sesshoumaru knows Suikotsu? No wonder the name seemed so familiar to me. Did Sessh have something to do with me getting the scholarship? I know he likes to meddle, but this much…' _The disturbing idea settled inside Kagura's mind. She shook her head, deciding to push her worry at the back of her head; she did have to take care of her daughter first. However she did make a mental note to find out more about the relationship between Sesshoumaru and Suikotsu.

As her crimson eyes spotted the reception desk where she had been so rudely received a few months ago, she struggled to repress a groan. Sighing deeply and knowing that her daughter's well being could be the only thing making her come back, Kagura walked into the air conditioned reception area and took a deep breath. She hoped that it would not be the same receptionist working that night.

"I'd like to see a doctor for my daughter… please." She asked as politely as she could. "And yes we've been here before."

"Yes of course. If you could fill this sheet, a doctor will be right with you." The young man behind the reception desk said with a comforting smile.

"Thank you." Kagura breathed out as she handed her daughter to Kagome who was right behind her. She then hunched over the desk to quickly scribble down the information required.

* * *

Kagura nervously placed a long lock of dark hair behind her ear. She was waiting for the doctor to come in and give her word on her daughter's situation. She fixed her crimson eyes on the door behind her; it lead to the hospital room Kanna had been assigned. Not able to bear idly waiting for the pediatrician to come back with the little girl's test results, the wind witch had decided to leave Kanna with Kagome and Inuyasha and wait outside. Another worry weighing on her mind was whether or not she should be calling Sesshoumaru. The words of the dog demon's younger brother still played in her mind.

'_In a way I feel like he should be here. Besides Kanna would enjoy him being here; she could definitely use his comforting presence and words.'_ She thought with a sigh before adding. _'So would I…'_ She reluctantly admitted.

Letting another sigh escape her red painted lips, she fished her cell phone out of her purse, and speedily, in order not to lose her nerve, speed dialed Sesshoumaru's number.

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard a phone ring not through her receiver, but coming from behind her. As she turned around she could already tell who was behind her, as the old fashioned ringtone could only belong to one person…

"Sesshoumaru!" She breathed out, crimson eyed widening. "What… what are you doing here?" She asked in amazement.

"I thought you would want me to be here. I did not mean to impose. If you wish I could leave…" He trailed off silently cursing himself. After all he had inferred that Kagura and Kanna would want to see him considering the circumstances.

"No!" She gasped quickly. She really did not want him to leave. "No need. Actually I was just calling you. I was just wondering how you got here so quickly; then again you _always_ had impeccable timing." She smiled up at him.

"I am sorry. That would be my doing. I figured that Sesshoumaru would be interested in knowing about Kanna's well being since he has shown such an interest in her health before. Now allow me to introduce myself Miss Kaze, my name is Dr. Suikotsu Isha. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. My good friends Bankotsu and Jakotsu have told me so much about you…" He started before being interrupted.

"Suikotsu this Sesshoumaru has little patience how many times do I have to remind you this?" The dog demon openly glared at his long time business partner. Even though he knew that Kagura's two employers were openly gay men and in a long relationship, he did not like the idea of them talking about her.

The young human threw his head back and laughed whole heartedly at the comment before answering. "Too many times. Way too many times Sesshoumaru. Well if you don't mind discussing your daughter's situation now miss Kaze…" The doctor trailed off eyeing Sesshoumaru. Even though he had the dog demon to thank for being able to have such a successful practice, he still would not want to breach patient/doctor confidentiality.

"Of course. He can stay that's fine." Kagura said not noticing the look of pleasure dancing in Sesshoumaru's eyes; she was in too much a hurry to find out about Kanna's condition.

"Well your daughter complained of chest pains and coughing, but her chest X-rays came out perfect. Her pneumonia has not made a return. I could advise more tests, but it would be a waste of time and money. After all I am fairly sure she is as healthy as she can be…" Suikotsu declared with a shrug of his shoulder.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Kagura spat out angry beyond words. Even if he had not said it outright, she knew what Suikotsu meant was that Kanna had faked being sick. Crimson eyes flashing bright, Kagura could not digest the accusatory words of the young doctor. She could not believe that he had dared question and insult her dear baby girl.

"It's not Kanna's fault if you can't figure out what's wrong with her. Why don't up go back in that room and do your job. Find out what's wrong with her!" The wind sorceress growled angrily.

The sudden look of anger that appeared in Suikotsu's dark eyes at her words did not escape Sesshoumaru.

"Calm yourself." Sesshoumaru merely warned the doctor. After all he had known him long enough to know too well of his mood swings and sometimes violent behavior. He still wondered how Suikotsu had managed to become a pediatrician…

"Of course. Please excuse me." Suikotsu smiled charmingly as he bowed to show his respects. "I have given my honest medical opinion, if you wish to have a second one I can page another doctor right now, but I still advise you to speak to your daughter, to see what truly is going on with her." On this note the young doctor walked away from the demon couple.

"He's out of his damn mind. As if Kanna would ever do something like this!" Kagura growled angrily. She had not liked the doctor one bit, and was thinking of a way to get by at school without having to rely on the money she received from the obviously deranged doctor.

'_I should do that since he's clearly crazy. I don't want to have anything to do with him!' _She thought to herself.

Sesshoumaru's voice suddenly cut through her thoughts. "I believe Suikotsu. He has been my physician for a long time, and has never failed me." _'He is the only one who has been able to give me alternative and more efficient options to treat my migraines…' _He thought to himself.

"I completely trust him." He raised his hand to silence the upcoming protest Kagura wanted to let out. "I believe I am to blame here." He painfully let out.

"What do you mean?" Kagura raised a dark eyebrow in surprise. His unexpected admission of guilt made her temporarily forget about her anger.

"Remember that night you were supposed to go on a date with Shinichi…" He interrupted himself to curse silently. After all he had never intended to have Kagura find out about his 'little plan' to ruin her date, nor had he ever wanted to have her be mad at him again; he wanted the two of them to reconcile, not fight.

Even though the growing look of irritation on Sesshoumaru's face worried her, Kagura reached a comforting hand towards him. She took his large clawed hand in hers and looked up at him in wonder. "What about that night? Kanna had a slight relapse, but I don't see how that's your fault?..." _"Damn due to Shin I completely forgot about Kanna's illness that day. Oh no maybe she has been sick ever since then. Maybe her antibiotics hadn't worked too well.' _The wind sorceress once more felt like cursing herself. _'She may have been suffering all this time, but merely kept quiet for my benefit!'_

Sesshoumaru took a deep breath and decided that quickly admitting his guilt would be the best way to get the situation sorted out. _'Here goes the end of me…' _He thought just as he opened his mouth. "This Sesshoumaru asked Kanna to lie. She was never sick, and merely faked a relapse to hasten your return home." Referring to himself at the third person made him feel a little protected and a little less ridiculous, or so he hoped.

"You made my daughter fake an illness so that I would not go on a date with her father?!" Saying the words aloud and seeing the look of embarrassment on the dog demon's face made her dissolve in laughter.

"What is so funny?" He asked clearly uncomfortable. He had thought that Kagura would be screaming, cursing and beating him by now, but she seemed not to want to do any.

"_You_! I can't believe you. You used my daughter to crash my date?!... I don't even know what to say." Kagura added before chuckling some more. "Not to mention the look on your face is just so priceless. I've never seen you look embarrassed before. Seriously you look like a kid caught with his hand inside the forbidden cookie jar." Despite how much she tried to stop she was still lightly laughing. Part of it was due to the sudden relief coming from the fact that her daughter was fine.

"This Sesshoumaru is glad to be a source of entertainment." He said dryly. He was not quite fond of being mocked.

"You're welcome. I needed that; I haven't been laughing like that in a very long while." She wiped away a small tear of laughter. "On a more serious note, what you did was so wrong."

"I am aware of that, and I am sorry. Allow me to go speak to Kanna, and try to explain to her what she did was unacceptable." He sighed. To be honest he did not regret his decision to break apart Kagura and Shinichi, but he now realized his way to do it was not the best. He had not anticipated that Kanna would think about using his technique to get what she wanted.

"Ugh I have to apologize to Dr Suikotsu too. I feel bad already…" Kagura could almost feel herself flush in embarrassment.

"Do not worry yourself about it Kagura. He has probably forgiven you by now. I assure you, you're not the first irate parent he has had to deal with." He said aiming to reassure her. She had enough to worry about Kanna.

"I hope you're right." She groaned just as she pushed open the door to the examination room Kanna was in.

"Mommy. Sesshoumaru!" The little girl's dark eyes glowed with happiness when she saw the two demons walk in. Seeing the two of them together made her realize she could have never imagined nor anticipated her plan to work this well.

"Well well look who's here." Inuyasha said a knowing smirk on his lips. He paused in his game of flicking his furry ears to amuse Kanna while her mother had stepped out.

"Don't mind us; we were on our way out." Kagome exclaimed just as she took her fiancé by the hand and dragged him away, and out of the room in record time. He barely had the time to let out a "Keh!" that the two of them had disappeared.

Not affected by the hasty retreat of Inuyasha and Kagome, Kanna smiled brightly, her heart lifting at seeing her mother back with Sesshoumaru.

"Don't start smiling now baby. We're here to talk to you about something very important." The wind sorceress declared just as she stopped in front of her daughter's hospital bed.

Seeing the look of incomprehension in the little girl's eyes, Sesshoumaru decided to step in. "Kanna…" He started struggling to find the right words. "The doctor told us that you have faked … you have been pretending to be sick again. Is that true?"

Instead of answering Kanna looked away from the two adults, shame and fear spreading through her.

"Kanna-chan. Is that true? I was so worried about you, how could you…" Kagura started, but Sesshoumaru stopped her by placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Feeling his warm clawed palm on her shoulder felt so good to her that she forgot her train of thought for a second.

"I know that we have…played... and acted…" He said for lack of a better word. "That night I asked you to help me get your mother to come home early. This is where you got the idea, right?" Sesshoumaru asked. No one needed more explanation to know he was referring to the night Kagura had her reunion date with Shinichi. Not able to lie to the dog demon, or bear to see her mother anxious, Kanna nodded her head.

"I wanted mommy and Sesshoumaru to be together again... It worked last time" The little girl said with teary dark eyes.

"Honey you can't make these sorts of decisions for people. If you want something tell me. You don't have to scare me like this." The wind sorceress sent her daughter a warm smile before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I promise I won't do it again." Kanna said smiling up at her mother. "I am so sorry."

"I believe all is settled for now." Sesshoumaru remarked as he put his hands inside his pocket; pretending to be nonchalant. In truth he was worried about what might happen next; especially if and when he would part ways again with Kagura and Kanna.

"It's too bad we ruined Mrs. Higurashi's dinner party…" The wind sorceress sighed with heavy crimson eyes.

"Do not worry yourself about it. She will forgive you. Both of you." He stated, sure of himself.

"I guess we have no need to stay here anymore. Come on baby, you've had a long day, so let's go home." Kagura said as she picked up her daughter. She and Sesshoumaru walked out of the hospital examination room, and to their mutual surprise none other than Suikotsu was waiting outside.

"So did you get everything cleared up?" The young doctor asked.

"Everything is fine Suikotsu, and I believe it is for you too." The dog demon said silently asking his long time friend if he was about to flip and get mad at Kagura for her earlier comments.

Before Suikotsu could answer, Kagura spoke. "I want to apologize for before. Kanna also wants to say she's sorry, don't you baby?"

"I am sorry." The little girl said, not daring look up to the kind doctor.

"No need to worry about this little one. What I wanted to say is… Well at the risk of getting my head bit off, Miss Kaze I couldn't help but notice you're not looking too good." Suikotsu said, his dark eyes rived on the wind sorceress.

"Duh I am working two jobs, and I just had to rush my daughter to the emergency room." Kagura retorted rolling her eyes in annoyance. The dog demon silently observed her, and as he noticed that she was indeed paler than usual, had dark circles around her eyes, and that she had lost weight, he felt worried.

"Maybe you should give her some exams." Sesshoumaru suggested.

"Yes I was thinking of doing a blood work." Suikotsu eyed her with interest.

"Ugh I'm fine. I just need a little rest, that's all." She retorted not liking one bit having everyone's attention be on her.

"Better be safe than sorry." Sesshoumaru said gently, knowing that Kagura was not fond of hospitals; he after all shared her dislike. He decided to comfort her by gently smoothing a hand along her cheek, and she instinctively leaned her face towards his touch, which made happiness soar inside him. He repressed a sigh of disappointment when she quickly removed her face from his palm, as if suddenly remembering that the two of them were not together anymore.

Kagura was touched that her former lover was this worried about her, and she welcomed his pleasing touches on her skin, but she did not want to spend any more time in the clinic. Kanna's sudden disobedience had gotten on her nerves badly, and she was at her wit's end.

"It's nothing. I've always had a slight anemia; that's all. A few vitamins, some rest and I'll be fine. I just have to go home." The wind sorceress finally admitted.

Sesshoumaru eyed her curiously; he was disappointed that she had never mentioned it to him before, but could hardly mention it since he too had never told her about his migraines…

"Hum that could explain your paleness. Alright I will let you be for now, but be sure to get plenty of rest, a nice dinner, some vitamins and iron tablets. By the way if I remember correctly you came in with Inuyasha and that young woman, right? Well on their way out they asked me to tell you they were leaving. I could always call you a taxi if you want Miss Kaze." The ever helpful doctor said.

_'Meddling fools.' _The dog demon thought to himself even if he could not help but be glad Kagome and Inuyasha were trying to bring them back together. A smile appeared on his lips. _'Maybe my little brother is not so useless…_' He thought to himself.

"It's okay. I will drive them home. Until next Time Suikotsu." Without another word Sesshoumaru took Kanna from her mother's arms, to the little girl's delight, and using his free arm walked Kagura towards the exit. She had not even had the time to propose a refusal, but in truth she did not even want to.

* * *

"Well that was a graceful exit…" The wind sorceress remarked dryly, her crimson eyes fixed on the hold Sesshoumaru had on her arm.

"My apologies." He said immediately releasing her.

"No worries." She smiled up at him. There suddenly was a heavy silence between them. Now that it was only the two of them and Kanna, Kagura suddenly became aware that it was _Sesshoumaru_, her former lover and close friend she was with.

Her first instinct was to flee, but she liked being in his company, making her decision to leave falter. Sighing, a smile on her lips she extended her arms to take Kanna.

"It is quite chilly for a summer night." The dog demon remarked as he started walking in the direction of the parking lot, where he had let his car. She groaned at the way he blatantly ignored her.

"You don't have to drive us back home; it would be a hassle for you. It's not too late for us to grab a bus." Kagura said. She walked behind him, trying to keep up with him.

He turned around to face her, once more ignoring her attempt to snatch Kanna away from his arms.

_'I have had enough waiting for Kagura to make up her damn mind about us. Now it is time for me to make things move along.' _He thought to himself, staring right at the wind sorceress before tightening his hold on Kanna.

"It isn't a hassle. I _want_ to drive you home." The way he stated it, his deep amber eyes looking at her pointedly made shivers run through her. For some reason she knew that something was going to happen this evening. She was just not sure if it was going to be something she would like or not.

**To be continued…**

A/N: I know the whole phone thing was corny, but I couldn't resist :P

Kanna is being quite naughty and Sesshoumaru has decided he's tired of waiting. What is to happen next? We'll see in **Arrangement**.

I was excited to write this chapter, and can't wait for the next one; although, I seriously doubt there'll be an update next week. Actually this time I'm sure there won't be an update. :)


	48. Arrangement

_**Chapter 48: Arrangement**_

A/N: Two very special dates this late March. 'Special delivery' turned a year old last week on the 19th. Crazy, no? I can't believe you guys are still reading. :P Thanks for the ever faithful support! And to those who are concerned, no worries, I have no intention of dropping the story any time soon. I will see it to the end!

Also I'm turning a year older on the 27th. Depending on how I feel after my excess birthday celebration we'll see about future updates lol. No seriously, Spring break is soon, and if I manage to finish my homework early I should be able to do some writing.

Thanks for taking the time to leave little old me a review:

**Sychotic**

**Little25victor **

**FoxFire7**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**Iz-Insane**

**Hellina-Bertinelli**

**ArtemisdelaLune**

**Sesskagufan13** (I couldn't bear to make Kanna suffer more. Darker things are going to take part in the story… quite soon.)

**Kagura's number one fan **(Aw thanks. And I love you for reading/reviewing. We'll see how the reunion between these two will go.)

Again thank you to **Dogsfang** for the PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(Kanna is a crafty little girl. Sesshy taking the initiative may not be what you expected ku ku ku!)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"_Well that was a graceful exit…" The wind sorceress remarked dryly, her crimson eyes fixed on the hold Sesshoumaru had on her arm._

_ "My apologies." He said immediately releasing her._

_ "No worries." She smiled up at him. There suddenly was a heavy silence between them. Now that it was only the two of them and Kanna, Kagura suddenly became aware that it was Sesshoumaru, her former lover and close friend she was with._

_Her first instinct was to flee. A smile on her lip she extended her arms to take Kanna._

_ "It is quite chilly for a summer night." The dog demon remarked as he started walking in the direction of the parking lot, where he had let his car. She groaned at the way he blatantly ignored her._

_ "You don't have to drive us back home; it would be a hassle for you. It's not too late for us to grab a bus." Kagura said. She walked behind him, trying to keep up with him._

_He turned around to face her, once more ignoring her attempt to snatch Kanna away from his arms._

'I have had enough waiting for Kagura to make up her damn mind about us. Now it is time for me to make things move along.'_ He thought to himself, staring right at the wind sorceress before tightening his hold on Kanna. _

"_It isn't a hassle. I want to drive you home." The way he stated it, his deep amber eyes looking at her pointedly made shivers run through her. For some reason she knew that something was going to happen this evening. She was just not sure if it was going to be something she would like or not._

Kagura could tell that she did not have any other choice but to follow Sesshoumaru, and had she been honest with herself, she wanted to. After all Kanna had not been the only one who had missed the dog demon. Not to mention that she was exhausted and that taking the bus at this hour would have been an ordeal. Deciding to give into her exhaustion, and to ignore her hesitations, she silently followed her former lover.

The two demons then walked in silence all the way to his car.

"I have to admit I am surprised to see you kept her car seat in your car." Kagura could not help but remark as she saw the dog demon do the familiar act of strapping Kanna safely in the backseat of his vehicle.

"I never got around to removing it." He said. He silently hoped that the wind sorceress would not be able to see through him, and realize that the real reason behind his decision was that he had always expected to have Kagura and Kanna back in his life quite quickly.

Sesshoumaru and Kagura settled inside the luxury car, and he quickly started it. After she gave him her new address, and much needed directions to get there, a heavy silence settled between them. Kagura missed the fact that before the two of them would be able to have a comfortable conversation while he drove home.

_'Or rather I would be talking and he'd listen.' _She mused to herself, a chuckle escaping her lips.

"Do you find something amusing?" He asked his golden eyes rolling to the side to observe her.

"Not really." She cleared her throat, feeling heat creep inside her fair cheeks, which was mostly due to her being in his close presence. After the brief interruption they remained silent again.

The wind sorceress wondered if she should mention the argument they had before they parted ways. She had not forgotten about Sesshoumaru's past deception, but with time had come to realize that she could not stay mad at him forever. After all she too was keeping secrets from him…

_'However if I want to get back with him, I'll have to come clean at some point.' _She thought to herself. _'Not that I want to. I have no idea how he'd react. For now I think it would be best to keep silent. "Let sleeping dogs lie" as they say.' _She thought chuckling lightly. She was amazed to have found something to remotely laugh about in the complicated situation she was in with the dog demon. Thinking about the old adage then made Kagura's mind wander back to the times she had actually seen Sesshoumaru sleep.

_'He always looks so peaceful when he sleeps. Far away from his cold closed off face during the day.' _She sighed. Her heart clenched as she thought about the long hours she had spent watching him sleep over the months they had spent together. She did long for what usually happened 'before' he drifted into sleep as well. _'Who could blame me? Sesshoumaru is an amazing lover.'_ She blushed slightly at where her thoughts had taken her.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru silently observed his former girlfriend. He knew her well enough to know that something was weighing on her mind, and was sure it had to do with their relationship.

_'We may have not parted on the best terms, but it seems Kagura does not wish to speak of it. Fine by me. I would rather we not argue tonight.' _He knew that postponing their much needed talk would not accomplish much, except give him a reprieve for the night.

Deciding to put away her thoughts of Sesshoumaru, Kagura looked back at her daughter and warmth spread through her when she realized that the little girl had quickly fallen asleep.

_'Guess coming up with grand schemes exhausted her…'_ The wind sorceress almost groaned at remembering her daughter's deceit.

"You seem so thoughtful." Sesshoumaru said soothingly.

"Ugh I have a reason to be. My daughter is turning into a delinquent." The wind sorceress remarked dryly. She regretted suddenly taking out her frustration on the dog demon, but no one else was here to take the brunt of it.

"Kanna is not that bad. You have no reason to overreact." He told her. His words suddenly reminded him of the one he had told her weeks back when Kanna had stolen Shippou's drawing.

"You think so? Well as you well know tonight was not the first time Kanna has acted out. And she's been really out of control as of late…" The wind sorceress sighed dejectedly. Despite everything that had happened between them, it was so much easier to speak to Sesshoumaru freely than to Mrs. Higurashi.

"What did she do?" He asked furrowing his brows even as he drove carefully towards a part of town he almost never visited. He had a hard time imagining Kanna as behaving 'out of control.'

"Among other things her powers started manifesting and she decided to use them to spy on you." She explained plainly.

Her sudden revelation made him press his foot on the brake too strongly by accident, making the occupants of the vehicle jolt forward. Luckily they were all unharmed.

"Come again?" He breathed out truly surprised. His golden eyes then instinctively rose to look up at the sleeping innocent looking little girl through the rearview mirror. He had a hard time imagining her using her powers to do mischief.

"Yeah you heard me right." Kagura chuckled humorlessly.

"How? She is so young." He was amazed that Kanna's powers had already appeared.

'_This was not an element I had factored in. Kanna is a precocious child; I should have anticipated something like this happening.' _He thought to himself. On the one hand he was proud that the little girl was developing ahead of 'schedule,' but on the other hand he was worried. He knew how developing powers could mean trouble to young demons, not to mention that Kanna seemed to favor using her powers for disappointing reasons.

"Well she _has_ an amazing mother, so it's not really surprising she developed her powers early." Kagura tried a joke to lighten the mood.

"So she does." He agreed offering his former lover a small smile. His words caused a small blush to appear on her cheeks. "So what are you going to do with Kanna?"

"I'm not sure. She uses her mirror to look at other people, but from what I've been told, I shouldn't take it away from her since she bounded her powers with it or whatever."

"Who told you that?" He asked making a mental note to visit a few websites to read about void demons and the development of their powers.

"Well some void demoness I met… but anyway I checked the facts in some of Matsu Higurashi's old books on demons and stuff, and she was right." Kagura said remembering Sakura. "You don't need to worry about that for sure. It will work out."

"I see. In any case if I can be of assistance, you know how to reach me." He said even as he wondered about the best way to get Kanna some help. He knew remembering from his own youth how confusing and hard it could be for a young demon to adapt to the new possibilities having powers provided.

_'Had father not been there to guide me I have no idea how I would have managed to get a handle on my powers. Kanna is at a crucial time in her life. It is an important stage for every demon, and I should make sure she has the appropriate help. It will be a hard thing considering the rarity of void demons, but it is not impossible. However I will have to find a way for Kagura to accept my help without her seeing it as charity, or me trying to buy her off…'_

"Yeah. Thanks for your constant support. Anyway I don't feel like boring you with that… I'll have to ground her or something… I'll find a way to make things work as always… By the way I heard about the agency and you ditching b-bags despite all the work we put into that damn campaign..." She risked sending him a warm smile. She felt a little embarrassed for talking to him as if they were back together.

_'Ugh I'm such an idiot. I run away from the guy because I blame him for trying to solve all my problems, yet the first thing I do when I see him is dump all my worries on him..." _She thought exasperated with herself. _'I'm so damn weak...Maybe Hana was right, and I should stop focusing on that. I miss Sesshoumaru and I love spending time with him, and so does Kanna. I'm my own woman now. I don't see how he could influence my life anymore, so there's no risk. Maybe it's time to try to mend things between us, if it's not too late…' _

"Did you?" He questioned. He was glad to see she had kept herself updated on the going on in his life as well. Though he was upset Inuyasha had not told him that she had asked after him. Had he known she had wanted to see him, he would have made his move sooner. "Yamashita is a truly annoying woman, and despite the money it may cost the agency, I still think getting rid of her was one of the best decisions I ever made."

She immediately wondered if him getting rid of the older demoness had something to do with her 'relationship' with Sousuke Yamashita, but did not dare ask. She already had a lot going on in her mind due to the situation with Kanna, and did not wish to spoil the rest of her time with the dog demon. After all they had almost reached her new apartment, and she knew they would soon part ways again. The only thing she did not know was if they would get to see each other again soon.

A silent pause settled between the two of them, which he suddenly decided to break when he noticed they had almost reached their destination. For once in his life he regretted not encountering any traffic. He would have enjoyed spending more time in Kagura's presence. It was one thing to get daily updates from Inuyasha, but hearing things first hand from Kagura was totally different.

"You know about what has been going on in my life, but what about yours?" He asked her, pretending not to know anything. He knew that it would be better for him if she was not to know about his arrangement with his little brother.

"Well I was awarded a scholarship, so I just enrolled at the local college. I started taking classes a few days ago, and I'm pretty excited about it. I had to reduce my workload because of it, but so far all's been great." She said smiling brightly. Showing him how independent she was becoming was something she took pride in.

"You are taking classes?" He raised an eyebrow in mock shock.

"Don't act so surprised, I know Inuyasha and Kagome fill you in on my whereabouts. Otherwise your brother's sudden fascination with my life is kind of creepy." Laughter escaped her throat after she spoke.

"So I've been found." Sesshoumaru remarked a tight smile on his lips. He was suddenly afraid of Kagura's reaction. He had never intended for her to have found out about his 'surveillance system'.

"So it was true?!" She gasped in real shock. "I was just kidding when I said that. I didn't really think you would…" She trailed off. She was amazed that her light joke had actually had some truth behind it. She had thought that Kagome and Inuyasha's involvement in her life had been due to their friendship, but she now started rethinking that.

'_Kagome might be doing things for me because of our friendship, but Inuyasha… I should have guessed Sesshoumaru was somehow behind his brother's sudden readiness to be of assistance to me.' _ She thought a small frown appearing on her brows. Despite her vexation, a small smile could not help but appear on her lips.

'_How could I stupidly fall for this one_?" He wondered surprised to have played into her hands so easily. _'Now I certainly am going to have to apologize to the witch…'_

"I'm probably going to beat myself for saying that, but in a weird and kind of twisted way… I don't really mind. It's kind of nice to see you still care." She surprised even herself by saying that.

"Of course I do care about you, how can you doubt it?" His statement caused a warm feeling to run through her and red to appear on her cheeks. She almost groaned at feeling herself blush again. She was a grown woman, yet simple words by Sesshoumaru made her react like a schoolgirl.

"What are you studying?" He asked trying to stir the conversation on safer grounds than his feelings for the wind sorceress. "Architecture?" He ventured a guess. After all even if he had known about her going back to school, courtesy of Inuyasha, his brother had not told him what Kagura's major was.

"Nah. I'm planning to major in interior design. Although I am taking architecture as a minor for my own enjoyment. How did you know?" She asked in pleased surprise.

"I guessed based on your previous interest." He flashed her a brief smile before adding under his breath "She truly has changed..."

_'Yep and that's thanks to you.'_ She thought to herself. She knew he had not intended for her to hear his latest words, so decided not to comment on them; however there was something else she wanted to know about.

"I've been wondering about something Sesshoumaru. I didn't have the best grades in high school, so I'm still surprised I was accepted in that school... so I've been wondering did you..."

"I did not intervene in you getting accepted to the school of your choice." He interrupted her fumbling. _'Although I did entertain the possibility in case things did not go as she wanted. However if I had gotten involved, and she had come to know, Kagura would never have forgiven me.'_ He added to himself. _'I am not even sure she is over the fact that I had Shinichi give up his parental rights on Kanna.'_

"I was surprised to see that you know Suikotsu pretty well… What I'd like to know next is if it's because of that, that I was a recipient of one of his scholarships…" She decided to ask next. After all she wanted to make any possible doubt out of the way as soon as possible.

"Kagura" He sighed once more wondering why she had not more faith in herself. "You have no need of my intervention to be successful." He reassured her gently, his words causing a pleasurable tingling to course through her. He knew then and there that she may have had enough time to forgive him for interfering with her life in the past, but she had not forgotten one bit.

"I know that. That's not what I meant… I just wanted to know…" She trailed off. Then mistaking the light of disappointment in his eyes due to his own thoughts, for him being vexed that she had doubts about the two of them she quickly added.

"You know it's thanks to you that I gained enough confidence to try to make it on my own, and go after what I wanted. You are my inspiration." The words were barely out of her mouth that to her disappointment she noticed that the dog demon had just parked his car in front of her new apartment building.

"I do not know if I deserve such an honor, but your word please me." He said truly feeling grateful.

Although she did not say anything, Kagura smiled pleased of herself. She had a feeling not many people could claim to have once obtained the dog demon's gratitude and appreciation.

After turning off his car, he briefly averted his eyes from the windshield in front of him, to the woman by his side.

"There is an opened pizzeria over there. Why not stop by? Is it safe to assume you still enjoy pepperoni pizza with anchovies? You must be hungry since you apparently missed dinner due to Kanna's antics." He said despite the fact that the façade of the said restaurant did not seem as clean and attractive as it could be. His sudden observation prompted him to look around where he had just parked.

Despite the dim lighting courtesy of the feeble street light above his car, he could still see around them well enough. _'Kagura's neighborhood does not seem as safe as Inuyasha had described it. Then again why do I trust the imbecile?' _He thought worriedly. In any case the way he saw it, both Kagura and Kanna should be living with him in the upscale neighborhood where his penthouse was located.

"Of course I still love it. It's the best, and only decent way to eat a pizza." She said glad to see he remembered her preferences. "But I'm not really hungry right now... besides Kanna is sleeping. I'd rather put her to bed…." Her heart clenched when she noticed disappointment appearing in his eyes. He may have been skilful at hiding his feelings, but not from her, never from her. It probably also had to do with the fact that she also was disappointed she would not be able to spend more time in his presence.

"You are right; Kanna's well being should always come first. In any case you are still looking quite pale, so be sure to eat and rest." He gently reminded her, already dreading their upcoming separation.

"You so quickly reverted into your nurse suit. Reminds of when we went to your beach house." She chuckled, her crimson eyes lit in glee.

"We had fun." He said wistfully.

"Yeah we sure did." Kagura sighed, the fond memories replaying in her head. Only thinking about it made her long for the times the two of them had happily spent together. "You know I think we could just postpone this dinner thing to some other night."

"Do you want to?" He asked, hoping they would not be eating at the pizzeria he had pointed to earlier.

"Yeah. I'm sure Kanna would too. Maybe I could go over to your place and cook dinner for old time's sake…" She said hopefully. A smile spread on his lips at her words. After all he had initially thought he would have to work hard to get Kagura back in his life, but now it seemed to him she was as willing as he was to resume their relationship.

"When would you like to come over?" He asked doing his best to mask his eagerness. He was quite shocked to see how only the idea of Kagura and Kanna being back by his side, if only for an evening, filled him with so much joy.

"Well I think we should wait a week or two at least." When she noticed he had furrowed his brows in confusion, she quickly added. "Well it wouldn't do if we sent the message to Kanna that all she has to do to get what she wants is try to manipulate us."

"I agree. So let us say Wednesday in two weeks? At five?" He proposed already trying to think of a way to get home early. His heavy workload would have to be pushed out of the way for him to be able to spend time with his two favorite demoness. _'I'll have to ask her to reschedule a few meetings, but everything should be just fine.'_ He thought conjuring his overloaded agenda to mind.

"No good. I get off school at 5:00 on Wednesdays, and then I start work at the restaurant at 6:30. How about Saturday? Once I'm done with my work at the shrine I'm free for the rest of the day. I usually take Kanna out for an ice cream treat, but I'm sure she'd like seeing you better." _'I know I would.' _Kagura said hoping this would work. After all unless it was during the weekend she feared she would be too busy to see the dog demon.

"Saturday will not work for me. I have a previous engagement at the same time." He said. He had not thought about the fact that Kagura was attending school and working two jobs, which would make it harder for them to meet when he had proposed they see each other. _'Kagura should be careful not to over exert herself.'_ He thought to himself, his protective instincts for her surfacing once again.

Kagura wondered if his 'previous engagement' was the beautiful woman she had seen him with in Kanna's mirror, but did not dare ask. "Oh I see. Well I wouldn't want to keep you away from your date." She tried and failed to pull off a warm smile. Even despite the darkness of his car and the night around them, he could tell she was disappointed.

_'Is it me or does she sound _jealous_?' _He thought a grin appearing on his lips. "Well my 'date' is my six years old mentee…" He enjoyed seeing a frown leaving her face to be replaced by a mask of confusion.

"You do mentorship? Since when?" She asked.

"Do not sound this surprised. She is an orphan from the orphanage where Inuyasha adopted Shippou." He supplied.

"An orphan? Do you plan on… adopting her?... I'm sorry I shouldn't ask; it's none of my business." She said suddenly feeling embarrassed.

_'Actually if I have my way it would be.' _He thought to himself disappointed that he had not thought of how Kagura and Kanna would react to his recent involvement in Rin's life.

"Actually I am sure Rin would not mind having some company during our Saturday outings. "We were supposed to go see the latest animated movie that is out in theaters before having dinner. This Sesshoumaru could certainly use a distraction from the emptiness of the script."

"Oh come on some movies that are aimed for children can be interesting to adults as well." She chuckled when he sighed dejectedly. "Well I guess Kanna would enjoy going to a theater to see a movie for the first time, and I could save you from boredom." She said crimson yes gleaming. "Then my offer to cook dinner would still stand, but knowing the usual emptiness of your fridge I'd first have to go grocery shopping…."

"This would indeed be recommended." He agreed. Ever since Kagura had left his apartment he had reverted to feeding off of take out and fast food, a far cry from her home made dishes he had gotten used to, and sorely missed. "It is a date then."

"Yeah… I guess." She said forcing a small smile. His use of the word 'date' made her feel like he expected more to come out of their 'play date.' Although what shocked her the most, was that she did too.

Deciding not to dwell on her thoughts on their relationship, Kagura stepped out of the car then reached for the back door and freed her daughter from her car seat.

"Mommy?" The little girl murmured sleepily.

"Shh go back to sleep baby." Kagura said pressing a kiss to her forehead. She then placed her small downy head on her shoulder before fishing for her keys inside her purse.

"Let me walk you up to your apartment." Sesshoumaru sent a worried glance around, not feeling trusty of her new neighborhood. The least he could do was make sure Kanna and Kagura made it safely to their apartment since he could not bring them home with him.

"No that's fine. I'll see you Saturday in two weeks. She smiled up at him just as she redistributed Kanna's weight on her hip.

"Fine we will do that." He smiled down at the wind sorceress before suddenly reaching down to hook his clawed finger under her chin to raise it. He then quickly bent to press a tender kiss to her unsuspecting red painted lips. She may have been surprised, but she did not push him away. "Goodnight Kagura." Without another word he settled back inside his car then drove off quickly.

Eyes opened wide in surprise and a deep blush dusting her cheeks, she watched him leave. She smiled happily, tightened her hold on her daughter and ran up the stairs to her apartment. The night had been more eventful than she had thought it could have been.

_'But everything seems to finally be getting back in its place.' _She thought her heart feeling as light as it could as she pressed a finger to her lips, still feeling warm and tingly due to Sesshoumaru's kiss.

* * *

Naraku's deep red eyes scanned the view of the dark city below him. He was once again seated at his favorite table at the Yuki tower, where he had met with Sesshoumaru several weeks ago. He was this night keeping a close eye on one of his girls who was entertaining a faithful client of his. The man was fat, old, sweaty and had a rancid breath, not to mention his habit of being rough on the girls. All these contributed in making him one of the most hated patrons to the eyes of his employees. Being assigned to him for the night was a horrible punishment.

_'Which is exactly what the bitch deserves…' _Naraku thought before picking up his glass of brandy and taking a large gulp of it. He then locked his gaze on Lana, an employee of his, who had tried running away from him, but failed miserably.

_'Ever since Kagura left all the girls believe they can get free and run away as well. How wrong they are. I simply need to remind them who is in charge.' _He smiled observing Lana trying to fake being interested in the old man when all she wanted was to run away from him and his powerful grabby hands as fast as she could.

Averting his eyes towards the entrance of the bar, Naraku's smile grew when he noticed the person he was to meet walk in.

"Hello my dear angel." He greeted the woman as she silently walked over to his table and sat down in front of him, teeth gritted.

"I am not here to exchange niceties with you." She hissed feeling sick to her stomach; only being in his presence revolted her, bring memories of the darkest time of her life.

"Tst tst my dear it seems you are losing yourself. I still have the power to ruin your life, so you better be nice to me." He reminded her just as he bent over the table and quickly seized her wrist. "And you better answer when I ask you a question. Am I understood?" He added as he twisted her limb painfully.

"Yes Naraku." She whimpered in pain. He released her wrist and with a wince she looked down at the quickly forming purple bruise on her fair skin.

"Of course you will find an excuse for this little incident. It wouldn't do for 'you know who' to find out what just happened between us… "He told her faking a concerned tone.

"Yes of course." She dutifully answered, repressing the urge to massage and soothe her painful limb.

"In a way it makes me nostalgic for the good old times." He causally observed. His eyes rived on her injury. "Now then I am sure you did not make the mistake to come empty handed, did you?" He extended his hand to receive his usual payment.

"Here you go." She whispered just as using her unharmed hand she fished for a ward of bills inside her designer clutch bag. In a small show of defiance, instead of placing the money in his hand, she deposited it on the table in front of him.

"I believe we are done here, so I will be on my way." She quickly stood up and walked towards the door. She had to go home speedily lest they noticed she had left the house.

_'Soon Naraku soon I swear to get rid of you _for good_. You made me suffer enough, and I'll make sure you don't make _her _suffer any more than you already have.'_ She thought crimson eyes flashing as she walked away from her tormentor.

"Another easy prey." Naraku muttered to himself as he counted the bills she had just brought for him. After pocketing them he drained the rest of his glass, and noticed with a satisfied smile that Lana had also disappeared with her client, probably to the hotel room the old man always reserved not far away.

_'Ah another productive night.'_ The dark hanyou thought happily as he marched out of the bar of the Yuki tower.

**To be continued…**

A/N: See how nice I can be? I placed a kiss to commemorate the one year anniversary of Special Delivery. Could there be a reunion in the future for our fave demon couple? We'll see next time in **New faces**.


	49. New faces

_**Chapter 49: New faces**_

A/N: This one's going to be a transitional chapter because I like torturing you guys lol.

My dear friend ArtemisdelaLune wrote me a wonderful giftfic, which is an alternate reality of chapter 49 and 50. I took (with her permission) ideas from it.

Thanks for still reading and reviewing:

**Sychotic**

**Little25victor **

**Soojinyeh**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Hellina-Bertinelli **(Interesting theory, but since you asked I won't reveal anything.)

Thanks to** ArtemisdelaLune** for the PM's.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(The identity of the mysterious woman will be revealed in a few chapters.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

Sesshoumaru was looking down at his desk, trying his best to focus on the campaign he was working on. No matter how much he tried, his mind kept on straying to the day he had planned. He had impatiently waited for the last two weeks to go by, so that he could spend some time with Kagura and her daughter. Having Rin by his side as well was going to be a nice addition.

"Mr. Takahashi here's the file you asked for." He heard his new secretary walk into his office. He had had a hard time finding a replacement for Kagura, but was overall glad for the newest addition to his advertising agency.

"Thank you." The dog demon looked up to receive the file from the fellow inu youkai.

"I wanted to ask if I could leave the office early today. I have a date with a hot long legged blonde with breasts the size of watermelon. I met her at a strip joint two days ago, and she's in town until tomorrow, so I'd like to take advantage of the situation as much as possible." The secretary said, looking hopefully at Sesshoumaru.

Instead of dignifying his employee with a verbal response, Sesshoumaru glared furiously in the direction of the newcomer.

"Aw come on what's so bad about getting some action with a gorgeous girl? If I were you boss, I'd go to a club, a bar or something and pick up a girl to take home. You need to let out some steam. If you need, I could take you out, and we could get a drink and look at some girls…" The young inu youkai stopped talking due to a sharp glare from Sesshoumaru.

"Get out of my office now!" He roared. "I have no need to hear of your salacious tales."

"Thanks so much for giving me the afternoon off boss!" Without another word, or waiting for Sesshoumaru's assent, the employee was out of the office.

"Feh! Was that your secretary I just saw skipping happily out of your office?" Inuyasha asked as he stepped inside his older half brother's office.

"Oh yes I believe that was." Miroku remarked dryly. He was more than glad to see Sesshoumaru's secretary leave their workplace. Since the newest addition to the agency, the purple eyes human had a hard time getting the attention of the women eployees.

'_To think that now that Sango isn't working here anymore, I was sure I'd be able to flirt with as many women as I wanted. Not that it would go beyond that. I love my dearest Sango too much…but I still like to have a little fun. If it weren't for that damned inu youkai I would be able to get the attention of all the women in the agency!'_ Miroku thought, an uncommon scowl on his face.

"It seems I gave that lecherous idiot the afternoon off due to a date with a stripper." Sesshoumaru sighed tiredly. He would have enjoyed daydreaming the rest of the afternoon away, but now that his secretary had interrupted him, and that his two closest friends had decided to crowd his office, he had to give up on planning his big date for the following day.

Just as he was about to shoo his collaborators from his work space, the dog demon heard his phone ring. He quickly reached for it, knowing that his secretary must have left by now.

"Hi. Sesshoumaru?" He heard a familiar feminine voice coming from the receiver.

"Kagura?" He asked truly surprised. Sesshoumaru quickly raised his gaze to stare at Inuyasha and Miroku, silently telling them to get out of his sight. To his annoyance, they merely smiled at him without moving one inch.

"To be honest I didn't think you'd pick up yourself. Whatever happened to your secretary? To think that when I worked for you I would jump on the phone every time it rang. " Kagura joked lightly.

"Things have become a little more lax around here…" Sesshoumaru admitted. He picked up his phone and turned his chair around to face the windows behind his desk. He did not want to see the mocking looks of his brother and friend nor their taunts. He could however still hear Miroku mimicking loving looks and blowing kisses at his back.

"Is there something you wanted?" He asked his former girlfriend.

Even though she did her best to mask it from him, Kagura was hurt by his coldness and the way he seemed to dismiss her. Little did she know that he was simply feeling uncomfortable due to Inuyasha and Miroku listening in on their conversation.

"I'm about to go to work, and I just wanted to ask you something before I left." She said her previous cheerful tone gone.

"What is it?" The dog demon asked.

"I just wanted to double check at what time you were going to come pick us up." The wind sorceress asked nervously twirling a strand of her long dark hair around her finger.

"I see. I have to pick up Rin first, so I should be at your place around two in the afternoon."

"Good. See you tomorrow. Oh and before I forget, I just put Kanna down for her nap, but she wanted me to let you know that she was impatient to see you." Kagura had debated over to tell him that, but had finally opted to be honest.

"That is very kind of you. I am sure it will be a fine day." Despite himself, his pride could not allow him to speak his real feelings, at least not as long as his friends were in his presence.

"Oh okay." She replied dejectedly. "Well I'll see you on Saturday then. Goodbye Sesshoumaru."

"Goodbye." He answered wishing he could say more. He then hung up the phone and turned around to face his leering friends.

"Hum the wench did mention you were taking Kanna out. Ya back with Kagura or something?" Inuyasha asked happily. After all he could not wait to stop having to look after Kagura from afar in his brother's stead. The hanyou was also looking forward to not have Kagome complain about the relationship, or rather lack of between Sesshoumaru and Kagura.

"We are not. Kagura and I are merely meeting for Kanna's benefit I do not see why we would not be able to stay civil, despite what may have happened between us." The elder Takahashi answered.

"You are speaking as if you two divorced and are sharing the custody of your kid or something…" Inuyasha remarked amused. Even though he could see how his brother's words rang true, Sesshoumaru ignored his half sibling, and pretended not to have heard anything.

"Divorce? Nope no one is going to break up. Can't you tell the love birds are definitely back on. I knew you two would get back together as soon as you realized you were meant to be together. As my uncle Mushin used to say all the time: love will always prevail!" Miroku grinned happily.

"Do you have a death wish?" Sesshoumaru glared at the young human, meaning to frighten him. He had barely been able to stand Inuyasha giving his unwarranted opinion, but Miroku's gleeful words annoyed him beyond words.

"Feh! Come I'll take you home unless you might my dear big bro' to kick your ass." The grinning hanyou remarked as he dragged away his best friend.

_'Idiots. All of them.' _Sesshoumaru thought about his secretary, brother and friend, who he had finally managed to get out of his office.

_'I hope Kagura will not be too put out by my lack of conversation…' _He thought, making a mental note to try to smooth things over on Saturday.

Letting a sigh escape his lips, the dog demon let his golden gaze fall back on his desk laden with work and files. He picked up his favorite pencil, and resumed working on the campaign he had been designing before the many interruptions.

* * *

After her slightly disappointing talk with the dog demon, Kagura had quickly left the shrine and hurried to her job at the restaurant.

_'I wasn't expecting for him to be overjoyed to hear from me, but it's the first time I made the effort of calling him since we parted ways, and instead of talking to me he totally ignored me, and pretty much dismissed me.'_ She silently fumed.

The wind sorceress walked to the back of the restaurant, and pushed the employee only door. In no time she walked up the corridor, and arrived in the bustling kitchen. Due to its relatively small space it usually kept the heat of the large stove inside. It was therefore a blast of heat that welcomed her.

"Wind witch you're late." Her boss, Kenji Yamamoto, remarked as soon as she walked in. The older tiger demon was both the head chef of the restaurant and the owner. To anyone who would ask, he would proudly tell the story of how his grandparents had opened the restaurant almost a century ago, and how he and his parents had worked hard to keep it in the family.

"What?" The already exasperated wind sorceress gasped as she looked down at her watch. "I'm only a minute late!"

"Don't bother arguing Kagu-chan, he can be as stubborn as a mule when he wants to be." His wife, Mayumi a tiger demoness as well walked past the pair, carrying plates of steaming food. Despite her advanced age, she still had as much energy as any of the young waitresses employed at the restaurant. "Don't pay attention to this old man, and get changed and come help me dear. We have a full place this afternoon."

"Stubborn, me?" Kenji grunted just as he threw some chopped vegetable into the frying pan in front of him.

"Do not get me started on your case honey. If I had known how insufferable you would turn out, I never would have married you old man." Mayumi retorted, to Kagura's surprise. She had heard that it was Mayumi who had pursued him until he finally gave in and agreed to marry her.

"Oh Kagura ignore my grandparents. From what my mom told me they have been bickering like this since before she was born." The future owner of the restaurant, Ai said as she walked into the kitchen. The young tiger demoness had gone to culinary school and had also gotten a management and accounting degree in the hopes of becoming her grandparents' heir and take back the restaurant when the two retired.

"I started working at the restaurant when I was a kid, and let me tell you something that never failed me. When they get in a bickering mood, it's better to leave them alone and go about your business." Without sparing her grandparents a glance, the young woman took Kagura by the arm and led her towards the employees' rest area, where she would be able to change in peace.

"Oh by the way Kagura I meant to ask you, Kara asked for the day off on Saturday, so her shift's open." The young tiger youkai, who was also in charge of planning the shifts of the waitresses, said. She knew that Kagura was always open to take more hours, as much long as her schedule permitted it.

"I'll pass. I have something planned this Saturday." Kagura answered just as the took her uniform out of her locker.

"Oh my god! You have a date. I'm so glad for you. If he has a brother, send him my way. I'm pushing thirty and still single…" Ai sighed, hanging her head.

"Too late, his brother is marrying a good friend of mine." The wind sorceress smiled just as she started changing into the white dress she wore at the restaurant.

"Oh well I can still hope I'll met a great guy on the job. See you in a bit." With a wave Ai walked out of the rest area and returned to the bustling kitchen.

_'I wonder why I didn't contradict her. It's not like Sesshoumaru and I are going on a date. We're just seeing each other for Kanna's benefit. It's more like a play date…'_ The wind sorceress thought to herself. Despite herself she could not help but hope that things would however turn out to be more than just a play date for her daughter's benefit.

_'Then again you never know how Sesshoumaru might react, or how things will end up tomorrow.' _She thought remembering how cold he had seemed on the phone earlier.

"Wind witch! How long can it take you to get changed?!" She heard Kenji's voice roar from the kitchen.

"Silence yourself old man! Take as long as you want Kagura dear." Mayumi retorted cheerily.

_'These two…'_ Kagura laughed to herself as she finished getting changed, and walked out towards the restaurant's dining area.

* * *

"Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Yes Rin?" He asked the human child securely strapped in the backseat of his car.

"Is Rin going to be friends with Miss Kagura and her daughter?" She asked anxiously. She did not mind meeting some of her beloved mentor's friends, but she was still apprehensive. Ever since her parents' death, Rin had become much more nervous of meeting new people or communicating with others, but Sesshoumaru was slowly helping her get over it. Unlike other people he had never tried to push her to talk, or be like her sunny old self, which was a relief. However since she met the dog demon Rin had started behaving more like her old self.

"Here we have arrived." He said parking his car. "I will call them; they should come down in a minute." Before dialing, he took the time to turn around and send Rin a reassuring light smile. She had seen him interact with many other people, so she knew how rare his smiles were, which made the one he gave her even more precious and reassuring. All of a sudden her jitters were gone, so was the knot in her stomach.

_'Everything is going to be okay. Sesshumaru-sama is so nice, so of course his friends must be too.' _The six year old thought confidently as she watched her protector fish his cell phone out of his pocket.

* * *

"Are we going soon?" Kanna asked her mother. The young girl was seated on the carpet of their living room, impatiently playing with her stuffed toy Kuma-chan.

"Not yet baby." Kagura smiled indulgently. She too was impatient, but showed it less than her daughter. Ever since she had told Kanna the previous week that they were to spend the afternoon with Sesshoumaru, the little girl had behaved as sagely as she used to. The prospect of being reunited with the dog demon had been enough to pacify her rebellious instincts.

"When is he coming?" Kanna asked again.

"Soon Kanna-chan. Soon." The wind sorceress smiled as she gave herself a critical once over in the mirror; the void demoness was not the only one looking forward to seeing Sesshoumaru. Kagura sighed as she rearranged her headband, which was trying to keep her long dark unbound hair in place.

_'I do wonder how Kanna will react to Sesshoumaru's mentee… well as long as she's not some snotty kid… Then again I doubt she would be, Sesshoumaru isn't known for his patience, so I think he wouldn't be able to bear having an annoying kid follow him around. I could still remember how haughty he was where Kanna was concerned when we first met.' _She thought to herself, a smile tugging at her lips. Sesshoumaru had changed drastically.

_'And for the best. I guess I like the new him much better.'_ Kagura jolted when she heard her cell phone ring. She quickly picked it up and was not surprised to see Sesshoumaru's number appear on her screen.

"I am here." He simply said.

"Okay we're on our way down." Kagura smiled just as she hung up.

"Sesshoumaru is here?" Kanna asked, dark eyes gleaming.

"Yes he's waiting downstairs." Kagura picked up her purse and took the time to once again make sure she looked right before walking towards the door.

"Let's go!" Kanna ran to the door, an eager smile on her lips. Kagura laughed wholeheartedly as her daughter's antics even if she was worried that things would go well between Kanna and Sesshoumaru's mentee, and of course between the dog demon and herself.

**To be continued…**

A/N: We'll see how the day of fun will go along in the next chapter **Date**. I'm pretty sure you can guess how some things will turn out. I'm 60% sure there will be an update next week… I'll try to get some writing done since it's my Spring break, but I've got lots of schoolwork. It seems some professors seem to forget that it's not much of a break if they assign papers due the day we come back ugh…


	50. Date

_**Chapter 50: Date**_

A/N: Late yet long chapter! Wow 50 (?!) chapters already. I shamelessly (and with her permission) took ideas from **ArtemisdelaLune's** wonderful gift "Special delivery: new faces and new storms."

Thanks for reading and reviewing:

**Sychotic**

**Little25victor **

**Soojinyeh**

**FoxFire7**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Iz-Insane**

**Kagura's number one fan **(Sesshy's new secretary will be seen more later on)

**90s gurl **(Thanks so much!)

_On _

**Zetsuii **(There will be more of the new characters, count on it. Kanna jealous of Rin? Where did you get such an idea?... lol.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"_Are we going soon?" Kanna asked her mother. The young girl was seated on the carpet of their living room, impatiently playing with her stuffed toy Kuma-chan._

_ "Not yet baby." Kagura smiled indulgently. She too was impatient, but showed it less than her daughter. Ever since she had told Kanna the previous week that they were to spend the afternoon with Sesshoumaru, the little girl had behaved as sagely as she used to. The prospect of being reunited with the dog demon had been enough to pacify her rebellious instincts._

_ "When is he coming?" Kanna asked again. _

_ "Soon Kanna-chan. Soon." The wind sorceress smiled as she gave herself a critical once over in the mirror; the void demoness was not the only one looking forward to seeing Sesshoumaru. Kagura sighed as she rearranged her headband, which was trying to keep her long dark unbound hair in place._

_ 'I do wonder how Kanna will react to Sesshoumaru's mentee… well as long as she's not some snotty kid… Then again I doubt she would be, Sesshoumaru isn't known for his patience, so I think he wouldn't be able to bear having an annoying kid follow him around. I could still remember how haughty he was where Kanna was concerned when we first met.' She thought to herself, a smile tugging at her lips. Sesshoumaru had changed drastically._

_ 'And for the best. I guess I like the new him much better.' Kagura jolted when she heard her cell phone ring. She quickly picked it up and was not surprised to see Sesshoumaru's number appear on her screen._

_ "I am here." He simply said._

_ "Okay we're on our way down." Kagura smiled just as she hung up. _

_ "Sesshoumaru is here?" Kanna asked, dark eyes gleaming._

_ "Yes he's waiting downstairs." Kagura picked up her purse and took the time to once again make sure she looked right before walking towards the door._

_ "Let's go!" Kanna ran to the door, an eager smile on her lips. Kagura laughed wholeheartedly as her daughter's antics even if she was worried that things would go well between Kanna and Sesshoumaru's mentee, and of course between the dog demon and herself._

* * *

"I missed you. Did you miss Kanna too?" The little girl asked, smiling happily now that she was settled in Sesshoumaru's strong arms.

"Of course." He agreed even as his eyes were locked on Kagura. The strength of his gaze made a shiver of happiness and pleasure run through the wind sorceress. "Are you ready to leave? The movie starts in half an hour, so we should go now." He added to the young mother.

"Yes of course… Is that your mentee?" Kagura asked pointing at a dark haired little girl seated inside the dog demon's dark luxury car.

"Yes. Rin." He hid a smile when he turned around to see the young human pressing her nose against the window, eager to see who they had come to pick up.

"Rin?" Kanna breathed out, her smile disappearing. She could easily recognize the human as being the little girl she had seen Sesshoumaru with in her mirror. Anger swelled in Kanna. She had worked hard, lied, cheated and waited for two weeks to see her mother reunited with Sesshoumaru. Her perfect family was complete, and she saw no need to have Rin added in the mix.

"Let's go. Kanna is very excited to go to the movies for the first time… and I'm sure Rin is too." The wind sorceress chuckled as she reached to take Kanna away from Sesshoumaru and headed to strap the little girl in her back seat.

"Hi there. I'm Kagura, and this here is my daughter Kanna. We're very glad to meet you." The wind witch gave a bright smile, which Rin returned whole heatedly, revealing a missing tooth.

"I am Rin, six years old, and happy to meet Sesshoumaru-sama's friends." She introduced herself as he chocolate eyes intensively watched Kagura fasten her unsmiling daughter in the car's backseat before closing the door.

The wind sorceress quickly settled next to Sesshoumaru in the car, a smile tugging at her lips. "Sesshoumaru_-sama_?" She asked an eyebrow raised in surprise.

He started driving before answering. "She has taken to calling me that, and I cannot make her stop." He simply answered his eyes staring up in the rearview mirror to observe the two little girls settled in his car. Only a few months ago he never could have imagined the expensive leather interior of his precious car have two children seated on.

"Since when can't the almighty Sesshoumaru_-sama_ prevent people from doing things he does not approve of?" Kagura asked him with a mocking smile.

"Often it appears, since you managed to leave, no?" He asked before he could prevent himself. Kagura was shocked by his words, and her smile quickly vanished. All of a sudden she felt cold. It was as if Sesshoumaru's words were buckets of water dousing the fire of excitement she had felt before. She knew he may not speak many words, but always spoke his mind, so she was sure that his earlier words betrayed the deep anger, he tried to mask, yet truly felt for her.

"I'm sorry for forcing you to come see us. I know that we're here today for Kanna's benefit since she wanted to see you so much." The wind sorceress said all traces of her previous warmth gone. She knew that before moving forward she and Sesshoumaru would have to have a conversation, but had hoped that they could at least be civil.

_'I shouldn't be surprised his angry at me. He's the type of man who likes having his way, and me refusing to lean on him, and even leaving him must have hurt ad angered him beyond words. Last time we saw each other we were so worried about Kanna, then relieved to see she was okay that we didn't get a chance to let out our anger for each other. However today… I'll make sure we get everything out of our system and start fresh.' _ The wind sorceress thought to herself, a frown marring her beautiful face._ 'Even if it means being victim to mean remarks like the one he just let out.'_

The dog demon could have banged his head against a wall. He never lost control, and could not believe that he had let his frustration get the best of him.

_'I am to get Kagura back. Not make her run away from me.' _He thought to himself, his hand tightening on the wheel. He was glad that they at least had thought of speaking low enough, so that Kanna and Rin would not hear their argument.

"I apologize for my words. They did not come out the way I intended." He breathed out. Kagura then shot him a nasty and dubious glare. They both knew he always said what he meant and wanted.

"Fine. No need to argue over this. Let us call for a truce for now. Both Kanna and Rin were looking forward to our outing, and we shouldn't ruin the children's afternoon. We will have all the time to talk later on." He told the woman seating next to him.

"Yeah you're right." She said sadly. She still hoped that she and Sesshoumaru would be able to reconcile, but now her priority was taking care of Kanna. "A truce it is then." _'Until we get to talk.' _She thought to herself.

After her words the two demons stayed in complete silence. Unbeknownst to them, Kanna's dark eyes observed them with interest. She was used to them being close and having fun, and despite her young years could feel the tense atmosphere surrounding the two demons.

_'I will not let my family break apart.' _The young void demoness thought her eyes moving away from her chosen parents to the annoyingly smiling little girl seated next to her. Kanna knew then and there that she would have to do more in order to get Sesshoumaru and Kagura to get back together.

"So Kanna-chan, how old are you?" Rin asked.

"Do not speak to me." Was Kanna's answer, then as the way Rin had called her registered, she quickly added "My name is Kanna, not Kanna-chan. Only my friends and family can call me that, not you." She spat at the shocked Rin. Kanna then averted her dark eyes to the window, once more wondering what she could do to make sure her parental figures got back together.

* * *

"Did you enjoy the movie?" Sesshoumaru asked both of the little girls walking in between him and Kagura.

"Oh yes Rin had so much fun. Thank you so much for taking me Sesshoumaru-sama." The little girl grinned happily. He could not prevent himself from wincing at the way she called him. He hated the formality between them. He did not know how he would like Rin to call him, but her use of '-sama' definitely would have to be addressed and changed soon.

"What about you Kanna? Was it fun?" Her mother asked, surprised by the little girl's sudden change in behavior. She had not spoken nor laughed during the entire length of the movie. Kagura had expected that her daughter would have enjoyed going to the movie theater a little more. Not to mention that she had thought Kanna would have been happier to see Sesshoumaru.

"Yes." She said pushing some of her white bangs out of her eyes. A smile then appeared on her lips as an idea occurred to her. "Mommy I'm tired." She added using her most plaintive voice. During the movie, she may have let Rin, who was seated in between her and Sesshoumaru, manage to get the dog demon's attention, but Kanna now had a plan, and meant to implement it.

"We barely did any walking today, but come here I'll carry you." The wind sorceress answered already bending to pluck her daughter from the ground, but to her surprise Kanna side stepped to escape her mother's hands, pushed Rin away from Sesshoumaru's side before clinging to his leg.

"Can you carry me?" She pleaded to the dog demon, her glistening dark eyes looking up at him.

Instead of answering, he simply took Kanna from the floor and carried her in his arms. The young youkai smiled down happily to Rin, who to her annoyance only smiled back. Despite how the young void youkai had refused to talk to her, or how mean she had been to Rin, the human only smiled at her every time, unnerving Kanna even more. Taking advantage of the darkness of the theater, Kanna had on several occasions pinched Rin's arm, but the young human managed to hide her pain, and simply smiled at her. Even when Kanna had pushed the much stronger and older human, Rin never responded by anything other than a smile.

"I don't know until what time you're supposed to look after Rin, but if you want we can drop her off before going shopping, so that I can cook. I mean I don't know how the mentorship program works at the orphanage, so I wouldn't want you to get in trouble or whatever…" Kagura said, unsure of how to make herself understood without offending anyone.

"Do not worry about it. I can bring her back to the orphanage after dinner... Unless you do not wish to eat with us Rin." The dog demon asked the six years old.

Rin who was quite unused to having someone ask her opinion beamed.

"Oh Rin would love to eat Miss Kagura's cooking." She said eagerly. "But if you mind I could always leave and go back to the orphanage…" Her expressive chocolate eyes reflected her sadness, despite her best efforts to prevent that. She did not want to be a burden to anyone, yet wished to stay with the three demons.

"Of course not honey. We'd love to have you with us." Kagura smiled before reaching down to smooth a tender hand down Rin's dark head. She found her to be a very nice and charming girl, and would love to see Kanna to grow up to be just like her.

"Why do you say that? She can leave." Kanna volunteered eager to spend the rest of the evening with Sesshoumaru and Kagura, and only them.

"Kanna!" Her mother gasped in shock. "That's not a very nice thing to say." She added shocked by the little girl's words. _'Since when is she this mean? Don't tell me she got more from Naraku or her father than I thought.'_

"Sorry." Kanna said immediately even if she did not feel contrite one bit.

Sesshoumaru frowned deeply. He had not anticipated that the two girls might not get along. _'Or rather than Kanna would behave so badly.' _He repressed the urge to groan.

"Instead of you having to cook, maybe we should go to a restaurant." The dog demon suddenly suggested, hoping a less intimate setting would be better for the two young girls to become friends. After all he had hoped that the two only children he seemed able to tolerate would become friends.

"I want dumplings!" Kanna exclaimed suddenly, sending a pleading look to her mother, begging her to accept. After all Kanna did not want Rin to go to her favorite place, Sesshoumaru's penthouse where she had spent the best, happiest times of her life. To her it was like a secret place only she, her mother, and Sesshoumaru should be sharing, not Rin, never her.

"Well Inuyasha told me about a good Chinese restaurant around here." The dog demon said already assuming Kagura would agree. He then smiled down at the infant in his arms.

"I don't know if we can trust him on that. Any restaurant that has noodles or ramen on the menu is a good one for your brother." The wind sorceress chuckled truly amused. Her smile grew when Sesshoumaru smiled at her as well.

"You are right, but we could always try. I am feeling quite adventurous today." He shrugged as they reached his car. To Kagura's amazement, the dog demon quickly helped both Kanna and Rin settle down inside as if he had done it a thousand times before.

"Well what about you Rin, do you feel like eating Chinese food?" The wind sorceress asked the little girl. She had also seated inside the car, and was looking backwards, smiling to the young human, to her own daughter's anger.

"Sure if you want Miss Kagura. Rin loves Chinese food very much." The young human said pleased to have her opinion asked once more; making her feel important, wanted and needed.

"Then it is settled." Sesshoumaru started his car and drove off in the direction where he remembered his brother had said the restaurant was.

* * *

The three demons and human had been seated at a nice table in the restaurant Inuyasha had recommended, a table full of food in front of them.

"How is the family enjoying its meal?" Their friendly waiter, a young handsome man asked as he appeared to add some water to their glasses.

"We are doing fine, as we were five minutes ago." Sesshoumaru answered coldly. He did his best to ignore his feelings of annoyance, and had he been honest jealousy. Ever since they had walked inside the restaurant, their waiter had given Kagura interested looks, unnerving the dog demon immensely. The young man also did not miss any opportunity to stop by their table.

"Thank you. This meal is delicious, don't you agree Kanna, Rin?" Kagura said smiling back at the young man, oblivious to the murderous glare in Sesshoumaru's golden eyes. Rin smiled happily at the older demomess, annoying Kanna greatly in doing so. The little girl was jealous that Rin was close to Sesshoumaru, but stealing away her mother was something Kanna would never be able to sanction.

To everyone's surprise Rin suddenly let out a loud shriek. Sesshoumaru forgot all about the annoying waiter, and moved his eyes to his young mentee. The scene before his eyes shocked him. None other than Kanna, despite being seated in her high chair, had thrown her opened sipping cup on the torso of the shocked Rin. The young human's orange T-shirt was now covered with a large purple stain, due to Kanna's grape juice.

"Kanna why did you do that?!" Her mother uttered in shock. "What is the matter with you? You have been impossible today." Kagura said, her crimson eyes thinning in anger.

"Kagura. Why don't you take Rin to the bathroom and help her clean up? Kanna and I will have a little chat." The dog demon said moving his golden gaze to the young demoness who had a pout on her lips.

"I don't think so. Kanna and _I _are going to have a 'little chat.' I can discipline _my_ daughter _myself_." The wind sorceress sent her young daughter a hard look. She could hardly recognize Kanna as the young shy girl she was only a few months ago.

"Your ability to raise your daughter is not in question here. However I doubt this Sesshoumaru would be able to enter the ladies' room, and I am sure Rin would like to get dry… soon." He added giving Kagura a stern look. Even she could not argue with the dog demon's logic since she did not want Rin to have to get cleaned up in the men's bathroom.

"Fine I get it. Don't think we're done Kanna. Come on honey let's go." Kagura said as she gently took the shocked six years old by the hand and led her to the bathroom. She was impressed that Rin had managed to keep herself from crying.

Noticing the looks of curious onlookers on them, the dog demon scanned the restaurant's half empty dining room with his piercing golden gaze, forcing the shamed patrons to stare back at their plates and ignore the ongoing family drama.

Sesshoumaru then waited until he was sure Kagura and Rin were out of earshot before he started speaking. He averted his golden eyes from the two dark haired girls to focus his attention back on Kanna. "You will explain your behavior Kanna, and quickly. Do not even think of lying."

She entertained the idea of not telling the truth, but she could never resist the questioning gaze of Sesshoumaru. "I don't want you to be with Rin."

_'Jealousy.'_ The dog demon thought with a sigh wondering why he had not anticipated something like this happening. He had hoped to see Kanna and Rin get along, but it seemed it would not be the case.

"Kanna we already spoke of this. You have no need to worry about being replaced, or any other nonsense." He knew that if Kanna was anything like her mother, then she would be likely to doubt his words and intentions.

"I saw her with you." It took him a little while to understand what the young girl meant, but he figured it out when he remembered Kagura's words the day Kanna had to be rushed to the hospital two weeks ago.

"You mean in your mirror?" Kanna answered with a nod of the head. _'I really need to look into finding her a tutor.' _He thought to himself. For the past two weeks he had tried finding a void demon, who would be able to assist Kanna and her budding powers, but had yet to find someone fitting.

"Did your mother not forbid you from using your powers to 'look' at people?" He asked her repressing the urge to sigh. He did not know why, but Kagura had been right, Kanna was really becoming rebellious.

"Yes. I listen to mommy, but I see you a long time ago. And today too!" Kanna said in outrage. "Mommy said that today Kanna, mom and Sesshoumaru will have fun together, so we don't need Rin!"

"Kanna…" He interrupted himself to take the time to reorganize his thoughts. "From now on you will have plenty of opportunities to have fun together with just your mother and me. However Rin does not have any of her parents. She lives in the orphanage Shippou used to be in, and it is not the funniest places to live in. I get to take her out only one time every week; it is not much. Therefore you have no need to be jealous of her." As he spoke the words he came to realize how important his role with Rin truly was. He had reluctantly taken on his role of mentor, but as usual when given a job, he took it very seriously.

"She don't have a mommy?" Kanna despite herself suddenly felt sad for her 'enemy.' After all she could not imagine a life without having her mother with her, not to mention the dog demon. "I don't have a daddy, but I have Sesshoumaru." The few minutes she had spent in Shinichi's company had not impacted her enough to see him as a potential father figure, and in any case she already had Sesshoumaru to fill in the void she had.

Had the dog demon's heart been able to melt, it would have. He knew that Kanna cared about him to the point of lying and cheating to see him, but he had never imagined that she saw him as her father. The admission only made him realize how imperative it was for him to get back with Kagura now. After all the two of them were not the only ones suffering, Kanna was clearly disturbed by her 'family' breaking apart.

_'Perhaps her recent bad behavior is not due to her genes in common with Naraku, as her mother seems hell-bent on believing, but rather to Kagura and me taking a 'break'. I have heard of children becoming quit distressed after their parents' divorce.' _He thought remembering Miroku's earlier use of the word in his office the day before. _'Not to mention the two sudden changes of environment she had to suffer. Moving from Naraku's tyranny to my protection, then being alone with her mother must have been quite a shock to Kanna.' _The dog demon suddenly did not feel like giving Kanna the hard scolding she deserved.

"Yes. You have both your mother and me, and you will always have us. So I am sure sharing with Rin would not be too much, no?" He gently asked her.

"Okay." She agreed reluctantly with a sigh, feeling ashamed by her own behavior. She figured that she might be able to bear having Rin encroach on her time with Sesshoumaru as long as the other little girl did not try to steal both of her parents from her. _'But I will never be friends with Rin!'_ She swore to herself.

"Good. When your mother and Rin come back I trust you will behave like the nice young girl I know you to be, no?" He asked Kanna.

"Yes. I promise." She agreed easily this time, and somewhat meant it. "So Sesshoumaru will not forget Kanna?"

'_Maybe I have been hasty in my analysis of the situation. Perhaps Kagura is right. Kanna must have suffered due to her exposure to Naraku. She seems to have separation anxiety and abandonment issues.'_ He frowned. He had hated Naraku for a long time, but he could kill him for the side effects his mistreating of Kagura had had on her and her daughter.

"Kanna this Sesshoumaru will never forget you, have I not told you before?" The look of uncertainty in her dark eyes hurt him. He had done his best to help Kagura heal her past hurts, and now realized Kanna would need some help as well.

"I see you need proof. Here. Will that be enough?" He asked fishing in pocket for the flower shaped hairpin she had given him for safe keeping a few weeks ago. He had intended to give it back to her that evening once they would go back to his penthouse, but found now to be a better time.

"You still have it?" Kanna gasped in shock, a smile on her lips.

"And I am returning it to you now." He added placing the pin next to its twin at the top of her head. "Since we will see each other more often, I have no need to keep for you, no?"

"Yes. Thank you Sesshoumaru." The young girl's smile warmed his insides, and he once more promised to do his best to spare her any pain.

* * *

Kagura had successfully managed to wash out the purple stain Kanna's grape juice had left on Rin's orange T-shirt, and was now trying to dry the fabric.

"I'm sorry Rin. Lately Kanna has been quite possessive and jealous especially when it comes to Sesshoumaru. I hope you'll forgive her. She's really a nice girl." Kagura turned to grab more paper towels before walking back to Rin and crouching in front of her to reach her T-shirt.

"It's okay. I don't think she's mean. Some girls at the orphanage are a thousand times more bad." The young human smiled down at the wind sorceress, surprising the latter.

The demoness felt bad for the little girl. She herself had not had the best upbringing, and did not wish any child to suffer. "Is it that bad? At the orphanage I mean."

"Rin doesn't have many friends, but it's okay. I just started living there… And also before I didn't speak a lot, so many of the children don't want to talk with me now... But I like the orphanage here better than the one I was before. Haruka is nice, and Rin met Sesshoumaru-sama and Kanna and you. So Rin is happy now." The young human smiled happily.

"Rin that's so sweet." Kagura said feeling her heart clench. She could tell that Rin was lonely and only wished to help her. She knew how much of a good influence Sesshoumaru could have on someone's life, and was sure he would be able to heal the hurt she could see in the little girl despite her ever smiling face. _'After all he managed to help me heal my hurts.'_ Thinking back to how much the two of them had gone through, Kagura realized how much she truly missed the dog demon and his comforting presence. She then and there promised herself to do everything to mend her relationship with him. _'And I guess I should come clean about all my secrets. He deserves at least that…'_

Kagura was taken out of her thoughts when she felt Rin was looking at her intently, and after looking up was surprised to see the young human was looking at her hair.

"Ugh please don't stare at the unruly bush I call hair." She sighed unhappily.

"Rin is sorry. I was just looking because it's so pretty." She said remorsefully. She wanted to have dark, silky, wavy long hair just like Kagura's not a lump of boring straight brown hair. _'Demons have such nice hair…'_ She thought thinking back to the beautiful long silver hair of Sesshoumaru or the pure whiteness of Kanna's.

"You like my hair?" Kagura asked surprised to see anyone like what she deemed to be a long wild mass of dark curls.

"It looks so soft!" Rin said appreciatively, allowing Kagura to finish righting her T-shirt. "It's better than Rin's."

"Yours isn't so bad." Kagura reassured the young girl, who made a face.

"Hum Rumi says Rin looks like a hedhog." She pouted self consciously running a hand through her pigtail. She did not like her roommate at the orphanage, a hair demoness who enjoyed mocking Rin very much.

"I'm sure you meant hedgehog honey, but do not listen to Rumi, whoever she might be." Kagura said when she looked up to see Rin's quivering bottom lip. "You're very pretty Rin, and if you want I could help you try to make your hair look better."

"Really?" Rin asked a bright smile appearing on her lips, and her eyes shining brightly.

"Sure honey. I'm not that talented when it comes to hair, which is why I tend to keep Kanna's pretty short, but I have a hair demoness as close friend, and she taught me nice little tricks." She answered then as she remembered something she wanted to address with the young human, she added "Say Rin, why do you use '-sama' when addressing Sesshoumaru?"

"I want to respect him." Was the answer Kagura received.

"You don't really have to call him that you know." Then as she noticed the hesitation painted on Rin's face she sighed.

"I know him well enough to know he wouldn't mind. Truly." The wind sorceress said as she took Rin by the hand and headed back to the dining room to rejoin Sesshoumaru and Kanna. Kagura was not sure what to expect to find with her daughter, but knew she would have to have a long talk with the little girl.

"Did your talk go well? Don't think that just because Sesshoumaru talked to you you'll get out of a punishment." Kagura sighed as she sat back at the table. "As soon as Sesshoumaru drops us home you're going to bed. You'll be grounded for the rest of the evening."

"I'm sorry." Kanna turned her head to look at Rin. She truly felt bad for ruining their nice time, and kind of felt sorry for Rin. After all as Sesshoumaru pointed out she still had her mother, but Rin had no one except the people from the orphanage and the dog demon.

"It's okay. It was only juice." Rin grinned happily.

"Then let us finish our meal before it turns cold." Sesshoumaru looked around the table to the three girls before going back to his plate of chicken even if it had lost most of its appeal. They continued their meal in complete silence.

* * *

As the dog demon parked his car in the street next to Kagura's building, he felt apprehension growing inside him. They had silently agreed to have a talk to see where their relationship stood, and he knew he wanted to have it over with as soon as possible.

"This Sesshoumaru will escort you upstairs tonight." He turned to his right to tell Kagura, sending her a hard look, daring her to refuse, like she had done the last time he had dropped her off.

Kagura debated whether to let him come up or not. On the one hand she was not comfortable with having Sesshoumaru be this close to her, on the other she knew putting off her talk with him would not work. The two of them needed to get all of their differences in the open if they wanted to move forward, which she did want.

"Okay. Anyway I have to put Kanna to bed early since she is grounded and all." The wind sorceress turned around to observe her daughter. Ever since they had left the restaurant she had not spoken a word.

"I know mommy. But can I have a bedtime story from Sesshoumaru?" The young void demoness sent the two adults pleading eyes.

"Can I listen to it too? Rin loves bedtime stories." The young human smiled at Kanna as she too started pleading.

_'How could I ever resist the two of them?' _The dog demon wondered as a sigh escaped his lips.

"Kagura?" he asked the wind sorceress. After all he had to ask the wind sorceress her permission.

"Oh well I guess it would be fine." She said surprised that before accepting he had thought about asking her opinion.

"Thank you." Kanna and Rin exclaimed happily in unison.

The two adult demons stepped out of the car, a satisfied smile on their own lips. He reached the back of his car and quickly unstrapped Kanna from her car seat. While keeping the youngest girl in his arms, he reached over to take Rin by the hand and lead her towards Kagura's new building. He repressed a groan as his eyes once again scanned over her new neighborhood.

_'I should hasten things up. I want Kagura and Kanna to move in with me as quickly as possible.'_ He thought to himself. He really disliked her new neighborhood, and felt she would be more secure if she was to live with him.

Kagura almost chuckled as she noticed how the dog demon was acting so naturally with the two little girls. She walked past him with the girls in his arms, and fished for her keys. Just before entering her apartment building, she remembered to check her mail.

"Just give me a second." She murmured to the threesome trailing behind her just as she fished her keys out of her purse.

To his surprise Sesshoumaru saw Kagura retrieve a long white envelope from her mailbox. His heartbeat suddenly quickened. _'Naraku' _He thought remembering the time the spider hanyou sent him unmarked letters before contacting him. Even though he did not detect the foul scent usually coming with Kagura's father, he had no doubt he was behind it.

_'I should have guessed he would try to get to Kagura when he failed to get to me.' _

"I forgot to check my mail yesterday, so it's no wonder I have so much…" She said as she reached for the pile of envelopes and papers, aiming to check them, but he, without letting go of Kanna, shot his hand forward to stop her.

"Kagura, there is no need to try wasting time. Get Kanna ready for bed, I will read them a story, then the two of us need to talk." He said knowing that it was time for him to come clean. Her crimson eyes widened slightly as his words. She knew where he was going, but was not sure she would appreciate it.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Next time will Kagura and Sesshoumaru _really _have a talk? We'll see in **Putting things in place**. There won't be an update next week, sorry guys! But the coming chapters will be worth your wait :)


	51. Putting things in place

_**Chapter 51: Putting things in place**_

A/N: It's been a while, no? Well I decided to post early since I found a little time. Caution long chapter ahead, but will it reveal all you want to know?

Thanks for reviewing:

**Syzhale (Like the new name. Congrats on leaving the 600****th**** review)**

**Little25victor **

**Soojinyeh**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**Rudhu (x29! New record!)**

**Jinxy-sama (x2)**

**Kagura's number one fan **(Revelations are coming, but Kanna and Rin being friends? We'll see about that.)

**Random reviewer **(New reviewer yay! Thank your friend for me)

**Nice stry** (Always glad to have new reviewers)

**Arlaen **(Another new reviewer! No worries Rin isn't going to be a big part of the story.)

Double thanks to **Dogsfang **who I forgot to mention last time!

_On _

**Zetsuii **(There will be more of the new characters, count on it. Kanna jealous of Rin? Where did you get such an idea?... lol.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"_Just give me a second." She murmured to the threesome trailing behind her just as she fished her keys out of her purse._

_To his surprise Sesshoumaru saw Kagura retrieve a long white envelope from her mailbox. His heartbeat suddenly quickened. 'Naraku' He thought remembering the time the spider hanyou sent him unmarked letters before contacting him. Even though he did not detect the foul scent usually coming with Kagura's father, he had no doubt he was behind it._

'I should have guessed he would try to get to Kagura when he failed to get to me.'

_ "I forgot to check my mail yesterday, so it's no wonder I have so much…" She said as she reached for the pile of envelopes and papers, aiming to check them, but he, without letting go of Kanna, shot his hand forward to stop her._

_ "Kagura, there is no need to try wasting time. Get Kanna ready for bed, I will read them a story, then the two of us need to talk." He said knowing that it was time for him to come clean. Her crimson eyes widened slightly as his words. She knew where he was going, but was not sure she would appreciate it._

"Okay…" The wind sorceress breathed out, her heart picking up speed. She could tell that the confrontation she had been dreading and trying to avoid was to take place in just a few minutes.

Without bothering to speak another word, Kagura walked past the door of her building and took the stairs, Rin and Sesshoumaru following closely behind her, him with Kanna in his arms.

"Well here we are. Nothing grand like your penthouse, but Kanna and I do feel at home here." She said as she inserted her key into the lock and opened the door to the one bedroom apartment Kagura shared with her daughter.

_'For now…'_ Sesshoumaru thought to himself. _'If I were you I would not get too used to this place. You will be back by my side soon enough…'_ His confidence at getting Kagura to resume their relationship was back. After all she had agreed to let him inside her home.

He tried his best not to groan as he stepped inside the wind sorceress's new living space, but only his legendary self-control helped him. From as far back as he could think he had never been in a living room this tiny. Seeing Kagura's delighted smile gave him a reality check.

_'I can see why she thinks that there is a large difference between our economic statuses. I know that I would not be able to stay in such a small space, but Kagura seems so content…'_ He thought reflecting of the argument he had had with Kagura before she had left him. _'At least her apartment does not look as shabby at Naraku's house…'_ He thought, his golden eyes resting on a small table ornamented with a bunch of colorful artificial flowers. He knew it was a small attempt from Kagura to try to liven up her living space.

"You guys make yourself comfortable. Rin do you want something to drink?" Kagura asked just as she walked towards the little side table to deposit her mail. She took off her coat and hung it behind the door before stepping towards Sesshoumaru.

"Nuh-uh. Rin is good." The little girl beamed. "Your home is very pretty." She added walking over to the window to look at the dark night sky. She then did her best to prevent the adults from noticing her yawning, but it did not escape Sesshoumaru and Kagura's sharp eyes.

"Here let me take Kanna. I'll get her ready for bed." This time Sesshoumaru did not protest when Kagura took her daughter from his arms. "We'll be back in just a few minutes." On this last note Kagura walked towards the back of her apartment where the only bedroom was.

"Rin likes Miss Kagura and Kanna very much." She commented just after the wind sorceress disappeared from sight. "I can see they like Sesshoumaru-sama very much too." The little girl smiled at her mentor happily. She could tell that he cared for the mother and daughter as well, and only wanted him to be happy. She was glad he had introduced them as well.

"Rin. There is no need to be this formal when addressing me." The dog demon said. He had told the little girl that before, but she would always simply respond with a big smile, and go on using the honorific when calling his name.

"Miss Kagura said that too." Rin grinned at her mentor.

_'Did she now?' _Sesshoumaru thought to himself. Any indication that pointed to the fact that Kagura still cared about him made him rejoice.

"Sesshoumaru?... Is it really okay for Rin to call you like that?" She asked brown eyes staring up at the inu youkai's face.

"Yes of course. As I am sure you noticed, Kanna does." He commented his sharp golden gaze straying to the table where Kagura had deposited the long white envelope she had received. Sesshoumaru was itching to open it, and see what it was Naraku wanted from her, but he did not dare. If Kagura was to catch him in the act of opening her mail, she would never forgive him.

"Oh yes that's true." Rin beamed suddenly reassured.

_'This Sesshoumaru will only have to wait until she comes back. I want her to trust me, so I need to trust her in return.' _The dog demon thought unhappily.

* * *

Kagura quickly changed her dear daughter in her new pair of white pajamas, a recent and much needed purchase, which had been made possible thanks to Kagura's new jobs.

_'She grows up so quickly, no wonder I have to keep buying her clothes.' _The wind sorceress thought as she took out the little girl's white flower hairpins before gently brushing her short white locks.

"Kanna. You know I love you and that I would do anything for you, right?" She gently asked the little girl settled on the bed next to her.

"I love you too mommy." Kanna responded gently. She had expected to receive a scolding from her mother as soon as the two of them would be alone, but she had not anticipated Kagura using such a gentle tone.

"Rin is a nice girl, don't you agree?" The wind sorceress added, but did not receive any answer from her daughter. "She really wants to be a friend of yours since she's so important to Sesshoumaru."

"I want Kanna to be important to Sesshoumaru, not her." The little girl sighed, unnerved no one tried to understand her reasoning.

"One doesn't prevent the other. Sesshoumaru will always care a lot about you, no matter how many other little girls he cares for." Kagura tried making her daughter understand.

"Why do you say that? Are you going to have a baby with Sesshoumaru?" Kanna gasped. That had been one thing she had never thought about. How would it be to have a younger sibling?

_'That would be okay because if mommy had a baby with Sesshoumaru, then they would get married, and he would stay with us forever. We would all live together.' _Kanna felt a smile etch on the lips as the thought occurred to her. She did not know how babies were made, but from what she had gathered from her mother's words, 'daddies' were supposed to place babies in 'mommies' bellies. The young girls figured that if she were to suggest the idea of it to Sesshoumaru and her mother, then it probably would happen, after all the two of them loved her very much, and would like to please her.

"Kanna would like it if that happened." She turned around to stare up at her mother, her face lightened up in pure happiness and longing.

"Kanna!" Her mother gasped, not even knowing what to say. _'How in the hell did she come up with such an idea?!'_ Kagura wondered just as an image of a silver haired, crimson eyed baby flashed in her mind. _'Sesshoumaru and I definitely would make a beautiful baby, but that is so _not _going to happen any time soon.' _She blushed at how easily her thoughts had strayed from the problem at hand.

"Sorry to disappoint you honey, but that is not going to happen any time soon. Besides we weren't talking about that, but rather of how horrible you've behaved with Rin today. She's been nothing but nice and welcoming to you, while you've bullied her."

"I already said I was sorry…" Kanna sighed disappointed her idea had not been heard by her mother. _'Well I can always ask Sesshoumaru…'_ The thought made her brighten up.

"And I know you didn't mean it. I'm not saying Rin and you should be best friends, but at least try to be nice to her. Who knows you might end up becoming friends. From what Sesshoumaru told me, Rin is going to be a part of his life for a long time…"

"Really?" Kanna interrupted her mother, sighing unhappily. "He should not. Sesshoumaru promised me he would have me forever. He bought me lots and lots of gifts, and he kept my hair flower for me! He no need Rin. He has me. He should only care about me."

"Kanna you need to realize Sesshoumaru does not belong to you. He is free to do as he pleases, and to be friends with as many children as he wants. Were you not just speaking about how you wanted Sesshoumaru and me to have a baby?" Kagura asked her daughter trying to reason with her.

"No you don't understand. If you have a baby with Sesshoumaru you will get married, and he won't leave! Then he will be with us forever." Kanna said in one breath. She really could not fathom why her mother had not had her idea before.

"Kanna-chan this is not a reason for two people to make a baby, or to get married. Things don't work like that…"

"Why not?" Kanna frowned unhappily. "Otherwise you don't need a baby." The young girl pouted.

"Kanna, having a baby is a wonderful thing. The day you were born was the greatest day of my life. If I were to have another child… well first of all it wouldn't be any time soon, plus I'm sure you would get along well with the child. You are a loving little girl with a big heart, am I wrong?"

"Yes… Maybe I would like the baby… because it would be the baby of mommy and Sesshoumaru." Kanna admitted. Now the more she thought about it, the more attracted she was to the idea of her two demonic parent figures giving her a younger sibling. "But Rin is not the same. We don't need her." She still persisted with her idea.

"Kanna!" Kagura scolded her. "When did you become so mean?!" _'Sesshoumaru is always assuring me that the time spent with Naraku didn't affect her, but I'm not so sure.' _"The way you're acting… it reminds me of Naraku. Being mean to someone for no apparent reason like that… not to mention the lying and cheating."

"Naraku." The child breathed out, her dark eyes clouding over. She still remembered the dark figure, who would hurt her mother so badly. A reason why she was so attached to Sesshoumaru was the gratefulness she felt for the dog demon for saving both her mother and her from the clutches of Naraku.

"I am not like him." The idea that she had disappointed her mother enough to be compared to the spider hanyou was painful to her. Before she realized it; she was crying hot tears.

"No of course you're not baby. Mommy is sorry for saying that. Come here." After wiping Kanna's tear stained cheeks, Kagura placed her on her lap, holding her close to her chest.

"I don't want to be like him… I will try to be nice to Rin now. Really I promise I will." Now that her mother had mentioned it, Kanna did see that how she had treated Rin was less than honorable. Unlike her Rin had behaved admirably, smiling even as Kanna hurt her, and the young human had not even told on Kanna. _'Maybe it's because Rin is so nice that Sesshoumaru likes her so much… but Kanna can be nice too.' _She assured herself. _'If I become more nice, mommy and Sesshoumaru will like me even more!'_

"That's my girl. I'm so proud of you." Kagura placed a loud smacking kiss to Kanna's pale bangs before lifting the young girl from her knees and sliding her under the covers of their bed. "Sessh will come read you your story soon." She said aiming to uplift her daughter. The wind youkai felt bad for making her daughter feel so horrible. She had wanted her point to come across, but regretted the method she used.

_'Comparing anyone to Naraku is harsh, but I'd rather hurt Kanna now, and make her realize the gravity of her actions before things take a turn for the worse.' _Kagura took the time to place another kiss to her daughter's forehead before leaving to fetch the dog demon.

"I know a very impatient little girl, who's requesting a bedtime story." Kagura said as she walked back into what qualified as both her living room and dining room.

"Do you want to join her?" The wind sorceress asked Rin, whose smile suddenly grew; she could barely mask her excitement.

"Then let us go." Sesshoumaru gently nudged the slightly hesitating little girl forward, silently telling her to go rejoin with Kanna.

"When I am done with the children, we will talk." He whispered to Kagura as he walked past her, following after Rin.

Kagura entertained the idea of refusing, she knew she could if she pointed to him that Rin needed to go back to the orphanage to sleep, but knew she was done running away.

"Okay. I'll be waiting."

* * *

"I hope you are satisfied with the story?" Sesshoumaru asked as he closed the book splayed on his knees. He was sitting on the edge of the only bed of the apartment. Kanna and Rin were lying closely next to each other on the bed. Both little girls had listened to him in silence, taking in the captivating tale of the princess and the mighty unlikely hero who had come to save her from a nasty dragon.

The dog demon's golden eyes scanned the barren room around him. Kagura's bedroom was too small and did not look comfortable enough to him. He once again wished she could just move back in with him. Another reason for the sigh that just escaped his lips was the scents in the room. As soon as he had walked inside the small room shared by Kanna and Kagura, his very sensitive nose had been assaulted by a concentrate of the wind sorceress's delicious smell, making him remember how much he had missed her.

"Thank you Sesshoumaru." Kanna smiled happily. Having the dog demon read her a story reminded her of the happiest time of her young life; the time she had lived in Sesshoumaru's penthouse with her mother. Kanna had then felt secured, protected and loved.

_'Soon we will go back. I know it.' _The young void demoness thought to herself as she snuggled against Sesshoumaru's side.

"Rin had so much fun too. I loved this story." The young human said just before letting out a big yawn. She uselessly tried to hide how tired she was since his sharp eyes could easily see it. Sesshoumaru observed her with interest. He did not know how long his talk with Kagura would last, and he did not want Rin to have to suffer, if it was to take too long.

_'I could always drop off Rin at the orphanage, but I do not know how Kagura would welcome me back if I were to leave. This is the perfect opportunity to get everything out in the open. Besides if Rin falls asleep here… I will have no choice but to remain here as well. I am her mentor, and should stay by her side at all times.' _The dog demon thought to himself just as he stood up. He reached for Kagura's side table where he placed the book he had just read the girls from.

"Rin. Do you wish to spend the night here?" He heard himself ask before thinking.

"Can I really? Rin never had a sleepover before!" She clasped her hands together, the prospect of having a new experience enough to bring a bright smile to her lips. The idea of not having to go back to the orphanage, where she was sure Rumi would tease and annoy her, was even more pleasant.

"Does she have to stay?" Kanna did not bother hiding the sigh that escaped her lips. She may have promised her mother to be nicer, but changing took time, and a lot of effort.

"Unless you want us both to leave…" Sesshoumaru answered, raising an eyebrow. The pout appearing on Kanna's lips was enough of an answer.

"Come Rin. I will ask Kagura to lend you something to sleep in." He extended a clawed hand towards the young human, who quickly took hold of it. The two of them walked towards the door of the small bedroom, when Kanna's voice interrupted them.

"Sesshoumaru can I get a goodnight kiss?" As soon as the young void demoness spoke, Sesshoumaru walked back towards her and bent over her small form to press a gentle kiss on her forehead. "From mommy too." Kanna added.

"I will be sure to send her to you. Now go to sleep." After making sure Kanna was well covered by the hand knitted woolen blanket, the dog demon exited the room, Rin in tow.

_'I promised mommy I would be nice to Rin, but it's not easy… Maybe I can try harder. I don't want Mommy to be disappointed in me anymore.' _Kanna thought to herself, letting another sigh escape her lips.

* * *

The young void demoness could not prevent a smile from appearing on her lips. Her day had gone well beyond her expectations. She was sure that right now her mother and Sesshoumaru were making up, and she was convinced that soon they would be living together again as one big happy family. Of course she could have done without Rin, but she could bear having the young human around.

"Kanna?" She heard Rin whisper. The latter was dressed in one of Kagura's much larger T-shirts, nicely tucked into the bed, taking the place the wind sorceress occupied every night next to Kanna.

"Psst! Kanna are you awake?" The young youkai sighed, but did not respond. Even though she had decided to get along better with Rin, and that she had quite enjoyed being read a story by Sesshoumaru with Rin by her side, Kanna decided to pretend she could not hear the other girl calling her name.

"Are you sleeping? Rin can't sleep. I don't like the dark." The older of the two children breathed out. She hated the idea of having Kanna know of her deepest fear, the one that reminded her of the horrible car accident that took away her parents from her. The girls she shared a room with at the orphanage, especially Rumi, had mocked her at first due to her fear of the dark, but had grown tired of it. However Rin was sure Kanna was going to be different. Even though the young void demoness had been mean to her all day long, Rin still felt that she had to have a nice side.

_'Kanna is Miss Kagura's daughter, and Sesshoumaru's friends after all…' _Rin reasoned in her mind.

Kanna wondered what to do. She too used to be afraid of the dark; especially, when her mother left her with their old neighbor Kaede because Kagura had to work late. To help her feel better the old woman had given Kanna a little something her mother still placed under her pillow. It, paired with the framed pictures of herself and her mother, had always been a source of comfort for her when her mother was not near. But Kanna felt like she did not need the object anymore. Now she had her beloved and precious Kuma-chan, and the mirror her mother had given her. Thinking about her treasures made the young demoness hug the white teddy bear the dog demon had given her to her chest. Reaching under her pillow Kanna fished out a small object and placed it in Rin's hand.

"Here, it takes the monsters away. If you have it they don't come. Goodnight." Not bothering to explain further, Kanna closed her dark eyes and did her best to fall asleep.

_'I gave it to her, so she don't cry for Sesshoumaru to come. I want him and mommy to make up, so Rin should fall asleep too.' _The young demoness smiled slightly at the prospect that the new day would bring happier times for her. The idea that she might be warming up to Rin did not even cross her mind.

"What is it?" Rin tried feeling with her fingers to find out what she was now holding. She brought it closer to her eyes, and through the sliver of moonlight coming from the window she could tell it was a worn orange bow. A bright smile displayed on her lips, she quickly slid it around her wrist.

"Thank you Kanna. Goodnight to you too." Rin said happily to who she now saw as a new friend. Even if the young demoness had not said it outright, Rin knew that the orange bow was a gift to try to make amends.

* * *

After leaving the two girls, the dog demon took the time to give Haruka a quick phone call to let her know Rin would be having a sleepover at his friend's place. To his surprise she had easily accepted.

Sesshoumaru then stepped inside the living room area, and froze. Kagura was reading her mail.

"What is it?" He asked, tensed. He already anticipated Kagura breaking down after reading the letter, which he was sure related to Naraku's blackmail.

"Not much. It's from my school." She said closing the envelop back before placing it back on her side table with the rest of her mail.

Sesshoumaru felt an emotion he not often associated with himself, stupidity. He had been so afraid of Naraku trying to get to him through Kagura that he had been sure the seemingly unmarked envelop was his doing.

_'I should have trusted my senses. I knew the letter smelt nothing like the disgusting vile scent of that infernal hanyou.'_ He sighed relieved.

"Are you sure it's okay for Rin to sleep here? I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with the orphanage." Kagura broke through his thoughts. She turned around to stare up into his golden eyes.

"Do not worry about it. Haruka will not mind." _'We have much more important things to deal with and discuss.' _He thought to himself. "You sound so concerned for my well being. I must admit I am surprised you managed to forget about our past different." He said aloud. _'It seems to me that she is trying to avoid our talk.'_

"I guess this the end of our truce." She answered with a snort before adding "By the way I didn't forget, but I can forgive. So what is it you wanted to talk about?" She did not want to be the first one to disclose.

"Very well. Kagura... there is something I have been meaning to tell you for some time now. Something I think you deserve to know." He struggled to find the words to tell her. Knowing her, and her temper he was sure things could easily take a turn for the worse.

Her heartbeat quickened. Something told her she was not going to enjoy the discussion they were about to have. She had planned on coming clean about all her secrets that night, and she had anticipated that it would not be a conversation she was going to enjoy, but the cold and closed off look on Sesshoumaru's face worried her.

_'He hasn't looked this grim since the day we first met...'_ She thought to herself.

"What is it? I have a lot of stuff I think you deserve to know too, so I guess we should just come out with it as fast as we can." She risked a small chuckle, which he did not return.

_'Maybe she wishes to tell me about her past herself. Perhaps I should let her try to explain herself.' _He wondered, torn about the best course of action to take. Then as his golden eyes rested on the long and thin white envelop Kagura had carelessly deposited on her dining table, he knew that he thought about the threat Naraku still posed for the wind sorceress, and decided he was done leaving things to chance.

'_The letter she has received today may not be from her father, but the bastard may try to get I contact with her at some other time, through some other way. He did not appreciate me dismissing him, and I am willing to bet anything that right now he is trying to find a way to hurt Kagura and Kanna.'_

"Kagura. I know _all_ about your past." He suddenly let out. Finally speaking the words he had dreaded for so long caused a surge of relief to run through him.

"What?!" She gasped, taking a step back in complete shock. "What do you mean?" She asked him, not willing to understand.

_'It can't be! How would he even find out? I've worked so hard to keep it all a secret!'_ She thought to herself.

Noticing the look of alarm in her wide crimson eyes, and her sudden pallor, he quickly walked up to her. He placed his strong hands on her shoulder, and used his thumbs to massage her skin, trying to soothe her.

"What exactly do you know?" She looked up at him. Since she was pretty sure that the dog demon could not know about her past employment of all things, she felt slightly reassured.

"I know that your previous… occupation… in your father's so called business went beyond being a simple escort." He decided to remain vague in his explanation.

"Oh… but how?" She breathed out, her usually vibrant dark red lips suddenly looking very pale. _'I've come to such great pains to hide it all from him.'_ Her heart sinking in her chest she took two steps away, not wanting to look into the dog demon's deep amber eyes, nor to see disgust or condemnation. To her horror she did not get to step far from him; her back had encountered the white washed wall of her living room.

"Your father… Naraku. He tried to blackmail me, and informed me of your _past_ at the same time." He informed her. Seeing the look of shock and pain in her crimson eyes hurt him in turn, but he knew that the situation was a necessary evil. They would only be able to move forward if they were to have this talk.

"Did you…"

"Give into his demands and pay him off? Of course not. This Sesshoumaru will never give into blackmail." He assured her stepping forward, stopping at only a few inches from her.

"When did all this happen?" Kagura wondered aloud, trying to understand what had taken place. She was sure that after being blackmailed by Naraku, and hearing of her secret, Sesshoumaru's behavior towards her would have to have changed, but she could not discern him ever being repulsed by her, or try to get rid of her.

"The same day you left." He answered her. He wanted to touch her, to reassure her, but did not dare lift a finger to her creamy skin.

'_Ever since then?! I never would have wanted for him to find out like this. I wanted to tell him myself…' _Kagura thought to herself, aching inside.

"This is not how I wanted things to turn out. I wanted to be the one to tell you. I should have explained all this to you sooner… This was what I wanted to tell you tonight." She sighed after taking a deep breath; aiming to get some strength back.

"It isn't too late. I am willing to listen…now." He added remembering how he had dismissed her explanation the night of the gala. He had now come to realize she had probably wanted to tell him everything. He was not sure how much he could trust Naraku's words, and since he had not read the spider half demon's black book, he did not have that much information about Kagura's past. "I want you to tell me everything. How you started working for him, and what made you into the woman you are today."

_'For all I know Naraku's words might have only been lies.' _He told himself, slightly hopeful.

After briefly hesitating on how to explain, Kagura opened her mouth to start speaking; she knew it was time to come clean.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Ku ku ku you didn't think I'd just give you the whole discussion, did you? I promise that next time almost everything will be explained. The chapter will accordingly be named **All in the open**. See you guys next week!


	52. All in the open

_**Chapter 52:**_ _**All in the open**_

A/N: Early update, aren't you guys glad? I've been so anxious about posting this chapter, but I hope you do enjoy.

Thanks for leaving me a review:

**Syzhale**

**Little25victor**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**Rudhu** **(x10) Congrats on leaving the 650th** **review!**

**Kagura's number one fan** (I'm sure Kagura had her daughter's best intererest in mind when she scolded her. Kagura's secret will be revealed in full for sure.)

**Rogue reader** (I'm glad to get a new reviewer! I don't know if I'll be up to your expectations when it comes to the big reveal, but I did try)

Thanks to **Dogsfang** for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii** (Your wishes may come true in this chapter… tough Naraku's plan will be exposed later on)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

"_This is not how I wanted things to turn out. I wanted to be the one to tell you. I should have explained all this to you sooner… This was what I wanted to tell you tonight." She sighed after taking a deep breath; aiming to get some strength back._

"_It isn't too late. I am willing to listen…now." He added remembering how he had dismissed her explanation the night of the gala. He had now come to realize she had probably wanted to tell him everything. He was not sure how much he could trust Naraku's words, and since he had not read the spider half demon's black book, he did not have that much information about Kagura's past._

`For all I know Naraku's words might have only been lies.' _He told himself, slightly hopeful._

_After briefly hesitating on how to explain, Kagura opened her mouth to start speaking; she knew it was time to come clean._

"Naraku has some _special_ clients; close friends and business partners of his. To them he doesn't simply offer girls to accompany them to dinner or to events as dates..." She interrupted herself to take a breath and then spoke as fast as possible "Well as I'm sure you heard... I was more than an escort…" She interrupted herself to moisten her lips as she felt her heartbeat quicken.

"I... used to be a prostitute." As soon as she let the words out, Kagura lowered her gaze not able to look her friend in the eyes. Even if the dog demon had told her he knew of her past, admitting her past shame aloud still hurt.

_'To be honest even before Naraku told me about her past occupation, ever since I met her I had a feeling something was up. After all the first time I met her I had thought she was a prostitute.'_ The dog demon suddenly remembered the night of the gala, when Kagura had tried to tell him about her past, and how he had dispelled her concerns, and assured her he did not need to know about her past 'job'. _'I should have realized sooner that she was carrying such a burden.'_ The dog demon thought with a sigh.

"I see." He breathed out; unsure of what to say. After a brief hesitation he added. "I am sure you have more than that to tell me, do you not?"

"What is there more to know?" She asked surprised. She rose her ruby red eyes, gaining some of her usual spunk back. "Why do you want to hear more?"

"We are done hiding things. This Sesshoumaru wishes to know everything. How you started, what happened… what made you rebel…" He trailed off. He was sure that if Kagura answered these questions, she would be able to feel better about herself.

"It's not important… it's all in the past now... Isn't it what you used to say all the time?" She shook her head, willing to forget about her past. She had worked very hard in the past months to forget what Naraku had made her go through, and she was not keen on reopening her slowly healing wounds. The wind sorceress took advantage of Sesshoumaru's split second of hesitation to side step his imposing presence and walk towards her small couch.

He immediately followed her, and to her surprise looped his arms around her waist. Then without even bothering to turn her around to face him, he forced her back against his larger body, and encircled her tightly. Looking over her head, he slightly bent down to place his lips next to her ear.

"In the past you have faulted me for not understanding your point of view, or following your wishes. Explain yourself to me then. Make me understand." The familiar warmth of his body sipped into her skin, and helped her relax.

"Okay. Fine. I get it. I'll tell you everything." She gently shrugged off the hold he had on her, and turned around to stare up into his eyes, but he did not remove his hands from her body, for which she was grateful; feeling him supporting her was granting her more strength than she could have ever wanted.

_`Sesshoumaru wants to know everything, and swore he could forgive everything… and I guess it is time for me to come clean. I've kept all of my secrets for so long; working so hard to ensure no one would ever know them, but now I have to open my heart to him, and trust him. And I think I can do it.'_

The dog demon lowered his golden eyes to look at Kagura, searching her crimson gaze to find out where her mind was going to.

_`Knowing her, she may be trying to find a way to get out of telling me everything.'_ He thought, furrowing his brows. _`I just have to make sure this does not happen.'_ Just as the thought formed in his mind, he got an idea.

Before Kagura had time to let out a squeak of surprise, she found herself settled on the dog demon's knees while he sat on her old couch, his arms around her thin frame, preventing her from going away from him if she wanted to.

_`It feels good to be in his arms. I had almost forgotten the feeling of comfort he brings me.'_ Kagura thought taking a deep breath, resisting the urge to burrow her face against his neck, the way she used to when the two of them went to bed together.

"What are you doing?" She asked him shocked. Even if she felt she should protest harder, she could not; she had missed the dog demon's touch too much.

"Kagura do not waste time. Just speak, and I will listen." He said as he gently squeezed her waist, causing a blush to appear on her cheeks and a shiver of pleasure to run through her. "Please. I really want to know." He forced himself to add before running a hand down her dark hair.

Hearing the arrogant inu youkai put aside his legendary pride, and plead her made her heart flutter and resolution waver. She then and there knew that she wanted to confide in him and tell him everything, and so she did.

"When I was thirteen years old, Naraku decided that his no good, big mouthed rebellious daughter could be of some use to him. He told me that if I wanted to keep living I'd have to help him and his business." She paused to clear her constricted throat. Due to the emotional turmoil she found herself in, she was finding it increasingly harder to let words out.

As if understanding her troubles, the dog demon once more ran his hand down her hair, aiming to soothe her. He knew how much she enjoyed the simple gesture, and would do anything to make her feel better.

"In what ways were you helping?" He asked even as he feared the answer to the question. _`From what I have seen of Naraku, I was sure he would have forced Kagura to work for him early on, but I never could have imagined he was that much of a monster. She was only a child.'_ He thought to himself, truly sickened.

"At first I did deliveries of illegal stuff like drugs and forged art pieces to clients and friends of his. Then when I was sixteen, I started working as an escort." The wind sorceress paused. "Having men spend money on me, take me out… I'll be honest I found it a little exciting at the time. Wearing expensive dresses, be covered in jewels… It was fun, it made me feel important and grown up... I was taken to high end restaurants, big parties stuff like that." She placed her head against his shoulder. Admitting her dark past did make her feel better. She had never confessed any of this to anyone, and knew that other than to Sesshoumaru never would.

"You were so young, too young to know better." Sesshoumaru commented, preventing the urge to press a comforting kiss to her forehead.

"Pff. Don't bother trying to reason, or excuse my behavior. Age doesn't change what I did." She sighed.

"Kagura…" For a second he struggled for something fitting to say, then relented. He figured he could try to build her self esteem later on. For now he was dead set on finding out about his past. "What happened next?" He tried pressing her on gently.

"As I told you before just after graduating from high school, when I was eighteen years old I met Shinichi, and fell in love." At the mention of her ex's name she felt Sesshoumaru tense under her, and tighten the hold he had on her, but decided to ignore it, and continued her tale.

"Only a few weeks later I got pregnant. He was my first you know…well Naraku was not pleased. I only found out much later on that he had intended to auction off my virginity to some rich pig friend of his. I'm glad I at least managed to thwart his plan on that end…" She interrupted herself to let out a snort. "The whole time I was pregnant Naraku left me alone, I guess I should be thankful for that… but once Kanna was born…" She abruptly stopped her tale. Speaking of one of the darkest times of her life, even to the man she trusted the most was still not that easy.

"After Kanna's birth…" He gently probed her, his warm tone encouraging her.

"Naraku felt like me being more than an escort would be more rentable for his business. Turns out many of his clients got a kick out of having sex with the boss's daughter." She felt him stiffen under her again. She only hoped that Sesshoumaru was angered by the way Naraku treated her, not with her who had not been able to resist her father.

"It was horrible. My first client, who later on became a regular was that old bastard of Yamashita. At first I tried fighting him off, saying no, but when I noticed how much he enjoyed it, I just simply let it be and pretended it didn't affect me; I didn't want to give him the pleasure of knowing how much I was hurt and disgusted…" Her usually vibrant crimson eyes suddenly glazed over as she thought back to the different men she had had to sleep with due to her father.

"Before the day you came to take me away that was my daily life. Yamashita wasn't the only one of my clients of course, but I don't really want to get into that." She instinctively buried herself closer to him as he silently listened. He occasionally ran his hand down her arm, providing warmth and comfort to her.

"Throughout all this I had one thing helping me hold on; Kanna. I realize that a stronger person would have given her up for adoption or something… try to give her a better, safer, life, but I couldn't do this. She's always been the best thing that's happen to me. I needed her, and I like to believe she needs me too."

"Do not doubt it." He took the time to interrupt her.

"Thanks." She smiled briefly. "I wanted to leave Naraku for a long time, but I didn't have the means. He always paid attention to have power over me, to make sure I'd never leave him. I had put some money aside, but you coming that day sped things up. You've also been a great help ever since... Well that's the end of my tale." Kagura stopped speaking then, silently letting Sesshoumaru hold her.

"Is that all?" The dog demon asked looking into her crimson eyes, right across from his.

"Is that all? That's all you have to say?" Kagura exclaimed in shock and disappointment. It had taken a lot out of her to admit her dark past, and Sesshoumaru's weak reaction vexed her.

"What else would you like me to say?" He retorted. He did not see what she wanted from him. He had lent her a helping ear, and a comforting shoulder.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I don't know I thought… I thought you'd be angry, disappointed or something…" She tried conveying to him her feelings.

"Why would I be?" He asked her. As much as he looked inside himself, he could not find any of these emotions. The only thing burning inside him were his hatred of Naraku and his will to destroy him while protecting Kagura and Kanna.

"Are you kidding me? I'm filthy…" She choked the words out.

"No you're not!" He cut her, not willing to hear her keep going down that road.

"I am. I just told you I used to have sex with disgusting strangers. All that for _money_!" She lashed out at him, shocked by his apparent acceptance. "Don't lie and tell me you're okay with that! Especially when you must think of the times you made love to me..." She added letting out a faint sob, tears of pain and anger falling from her crimson eyes. Looking for a way to vent her anger, she tried swinging at him.

At her casual mention of the time they spent together, Sesshoumaru's eyes briefly flashed red. He easily stopped the blow she was aiming at his chest.

"Calm yourself." He ordered. He held on to her arm, even as he did his best to prevent her from leaving his lap, where he actually quite liked having her. "I did not say I appreciated it. I am however aware it was not your choice. And as you just said, it was your... clients… let's say for a lack of a better word, that were disgusting, not you. _Never_ _you_." He assured her as he captured her chin between his fingers and leaned forward to press a small gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I could kill Naraku for what he made you go through. No woman should ever have to know such a horrible fate. You may have been forced to have sex with these men due to Naraku's selfish desires, but this has nothing to do with what the two of us did. You said it yourself; we _made love_." He said softly trying to appease Kagura. It was not in his habit to sound this sentimental, but he would do anything for her, even lay aside his monstrous pride.

_`At least as long as Inuyasha and Miroku are out of hearing range...'_ He mentally added after reflecting on his behavior with Kagura.

"Really? You're not disgusted by me? Or even angry I didn't tell you anything before? I mean you had to learn from Naraku of all people because I didn't have the guts to be honest with you." Kagura said once more, feeling a tear fall down her cheek.

"No and no." He answered firmly brushing away her tear with the pad of his thumb, mindful of his deadly claws. "Talking about one's past is never easy. In any case as I told you before the past is what it is, the past and is not relevant to today. You are a brave woman Kagura, and I respect you."

"Me? Brave? I have doubts on that." She let out with a snort.

"How many times will this Sesshoumaru have to tell you not to put yourself down? You are brave. You are strong. Accept it. You need not look far to find proof of that. As you just said, despite the pain and the fear, you dared rebel against your father and took the hardest way out." She closed her crimson eyes and took a deep breath, masking the small smile she could feel coming on thanks to Sesshoumaru's soothing words.

"Speaking about the asshole. Did he ever try to get in contact with you again?" Kagura asked. The idea that her father had blackmailed Sesshoumaru unnerved her to no end.

"I threatened him. He must have been scared off because he promised not to contact me or you." The dog demon admitted.

"First Shinichi then Naraku. I am sorry that they all tried to squeeze you for some money like that. I can't help but feel responsible. If you hadn't gotten involved with me, then… " He interrupted her by placing a long finger on her crimson lips.

"Not one more word of this Kagura. Besides I have meant to apologize about the Shinichi situation before. I should have told you about his parental rights on Kanna, and me paying him…" He finally admitted. Had he had a change to do things over, he would have done the same except that he would have told Kagura about what he had done. Keeping her in the dark was the only one of his mistake in his eyes.

"Yeah I would have liked to know, but I'm really glad he's out of Kanna's life. He is scum, and he would have hurt her eventually. That I am sure of. So, in a way I'm grateful for what you did, even if I disapprove of the method you used." She rested her head against his neck, her warm breath causing shivers to run down his skin.

"I am glad you managed to forgive me." He commented placing a hand against her head, pushing her further in the crook of his shoulder, where he felt she belonged.

"Well I'm glad you forgave me too; it's not like I don't have any wrongs here… Anyways the way I see it, having to deal with my bastard of a father was punishment enough, so I guess I do have to forgive you. Besides I am aware that you thought you were acting in my best interest. I apologize and feel bad for getting mad at you before, and for the mean things I told you when I left that day... I know you actually care about Kanna and me, not like my dear old dad." Kagura let out a humor less chuckle. "I can't believe I'm related to that man. I hate him so much."

"We do not get to choose our relatives." Sesshoumaru said thoughtfully. Now that she had calmed down, and did not need his support as much, he could not help but notice her, and the position they were in, and how much he, and his body, had missed the wind sorceress and her appealing curves, which at the moment he could really get a feel of.

"Inuyasha is not as bad as you make him sound." She laughed lightly, truly amused. The action made her move slightly on his lap, making him feel her body even more; he almost groaned. Not able to stop his hands from roaming, the dog demon moved his hand from her head to her hip, pushing her deeper against his body. He felt like scum for taking advantage of her momentary weakness, but could not prevent himself.

"I was not talking about the idiot, but my mother. She called me just yesterday, but I saw no reason to pick up the phone…" He suppressed an annoyed sigh from passing his lips. Thinking of the old dog demoness caused his arousal to drop down immediately.

"She's alive?" Kagura almost jumped from his lap.

"Did I ever say she was not?" He asked furrowing his brows in confusion.

Kagura thought back to their past discussions, but could not remember him ever saying so. "I guess not, I just thought… the way you speak about her…"

"Well she is alive and thriving, but I do not wish to see her." The dog demon thought back to his troubled childhood. The wind sorceress knew she should not delve into the subject more since she could see it annoyed him greatly, and yet wanted to find more.

"Why not? She is your mother, your flesh and blood. Besides I'm sure that I win in the crazy relative category." She smiled gently at him, encouraging the dog demon to pour his heart out as she just did.

"We are not speaking about this now." The dog demon finally let out. Speaking of his mother always caused one of his recurring migraines, and he could think of a better way to spend his short time with Kagura.

"You never change. Here I am disclosing to you my darkest, most shameful secrets, yet you won't talk about your mommy issues." She said masking the sadness she was truly feeling. After what she had just shared with him, she felt closest to Sesshoumaru as ever, and only hoped he felt the same as well.

"Kagura. I truly meant my earlier words. You have no reason to be ashamed…" He said again, doing his best to mask his irritation.

The wind sorceress felt tears of joy and relief bud in her eyes. She could have never imagined Sesshoumaru to be this understanding of her situation. Although she was angered at herself to be teary eyed so easily.

_`Ugh I can't remember when was the last time I cried so much.'_ She sighed brushing away her remaining tears.

Seeing her tear stained face, the dog demon wanted nothing more than to heal her pain. He was smart enough to guess that one thing which surely cause her pain, was her fear of the opinion he might have of her.

_`Knowing Kagura, I am sure she does not believe my words.'_ He thought to himself, letting a small sigh escape his lips. _`Maybe she will need more than my words to believe me…'_

Before he could think his idea through, Sesshoumaru laced his arms around her waist, making her move even closer to him. He bent over the wind sorceress then crushed his lips against hers in a searing kiss. He wasted no time pushing his smooth tongue through the resistance of her lips. He searched for her tongue with his own just as his hands gently raked along her ribs, going up to her breasts then down to her hips, reacquainting themselves with her luscious curves he had spent hours worshipping only months before.

He wanted to do much more to her, but feeling her salty tears touch his taste buds, he immediately broke their lips lock. Without leaving her the choice, he placed her next to him on the couch and quickly took to his feet. He had known staying next to her wreaked havoc on his self control, and that he would have a hard time being close to her without touching her, but he was also aware that for the sake of their relationship it would be better to wait.

"My apologies." He breathed out, facing away from her. He had not intended to lose control like that; no matter how appetizing Kagura was looking. The fact that she had neither pushed him away, nor kissed him back made him wonder about her feelings towards him.

"Sesshoumaru…" Kagura gasped taking a deep breath. Her mind was too jumbled to try to make sense of their kiss. _`He still desires me? Even after what I told him? Then again maybe not… he wouldn't have stopped if he really wanted me. Knowing him, had he still wanted me, he would have kept going. He would have kept on kissing me, or even more.'_ She could not help but think as searing pain grew in her chest. To her it seemed that Sesshoumaru had pushed her away, little did she know he had done so for her sake, for fear of her reaction…

"Sessh… do you want to talk about us… I mean our relationship, and what I told you means for the two of us?" Kagura asked meekly. _`Not to mention that there's the other_ thing _I need to tell him about...'_ Her heart suddenly sped up. There was something else she wanted to disclose to the dog demon, but did not dare. She was disgusted at her own cowardice, but still kept her lips shut.

_I'm too afraid to tell him that I miss him, that I want him, that I want to get back with him, and that I'm in love with him. He might run for the door if I tell him how I feel. After all he's not one who enjoys displays of affection, and something tells me love declarations are not his cup of tea…'_ She thought a sigh escaping her lips. _`Not to mention that what I told him about my past is about all I'm sure a sane man could handle. I'll just keep my mouth shut, at least until I figure out where us and our relationship stand.'_

Another heavy sigh escaping her lips, Kagura tried to make light of the situation between them despite her muddled mind. She had promised him she would come back to his side was she to gain complete independence, and now that she did, she saw no obstacle to them getting back together. _`I can only hope Sesshoumaru wants me back too… well he did kiss me.'_ She thought feeling reassured.

"Kagura. There is no need to rush things. We can take our time trying to figure out things." He told her, still facing away from the wind sorceress. _`I have to tread carefully lest the wind witch feels cornered and runs away from me_ again_. She is like a small injured frightened animal that needs to be approached carefully and despite needing to be taken care of refuses assistance.'_ He almost chuckled at his idea. He knew that Kagura would kill him if he ever said such a thing to her. _`I may be a dog demon, but she is the one who resembles most a barking puppy.'_ A corner of his mouth rose in a half smile due to his humoristic thoughts.

"I think we better got to sleep." He added his usual seriousness back. "I am taking Rin back to the orphanage early tomorrow." He said calmly, only now daring to look back at Kagura. He had missed the look of pain in her eyes, but the desire in her deep eyes, or her swollen lips due to his earlier hard kiss, did not go unnoticed by him.

"Okay sure." She answered feeling both relieved and vexed. So much had gone on, and she could use some time to get used to things, but now that she and Sesshoumaru were speaking, she wanted to a stay by his side a little longer.

"Well since the girls are sleeping on the only bed, we'll have to share the couch. It's a sofa bed though." She remarked as she went to a nearby cupboard in the hallway to gather linens.

"You do not mind?" He asked her his golden gaze resting on the old sofa. Due to its small size they would have to sleep _very_ close to each other, not that he truly minded. _`It will be just like old times.'_ His mind fondly brought him back to all the nights he had spent sleeping with Kagura by his side.

"We don't really have a choice. I'd rather have the girls share the bed." She said without missing a bit. At her answer, he wasted no time unfolding the sofa in a small creaking bed, then took a side step, letting Kagura unfold blankets on her sofa, making a makeshift bed for them to share.

"I'm exhausted, so I'll just go to bed now. Good night Sesshoumaru." The wind sorceress immediately slipped under the covers, not bothering to change clothes.

Kagura felt her heart speed up when the dog demon turned the lights off before joining her. A part of her rejoiced in the fact that his body was this close to her, but she was still tensed.

"Goodnight." He breathed inside her ear before slipping his arm around her waist, placing his body closer to hers. The two were facing in the same direction, gently spooning.

_`I may not have her tonight, but this will have to do… for now.'_ He thought breathing in her delicious scent. _`Soon she will be back where she belongs, by my side._' He wiggled slightly, aiming to get more comfortable, which was a fruitless effort; it only made Kagura slide closer to him, and the thin mattress of the sofa creak loudly. A groan escaped his throat as he then mentally added. _`And back in my_ comfortable _bed.'_

* * *

Sesshoumaru Takahashi had spent a horrible night. It had been a long time since he had slept this badly. Having Kagura this close to him without being able to have her, or touch her was pure hell. He had done his best to behave as a true gentleman, and kept his hands to himself, no matter how much it had cost him to do so. Not to mention that the creaking, bumping thin mattress did not do wonder on his back.

_`Had father been here he would surely mock me, and refer to our ancestors who slept on the hard and wet forest floor during the Feudal era… I guess father was right when saying modern day demons have grown soft.'_ He thought to himself.

"Sesshoumaru." Kanna said masking the growing smile on her lips. She was so glad to see her mother this close to Sesshoumaru. She was happily reminded of the afternoon she had spent sleeping sandwiched in between the two demons at the beach house, while her mother was feeling sick, and Sesshoumaru was taking care of them.

"Kanna? Rin?" He groaned opening his eyes to see both little girls looking at the two adults with interest. Kagura, who was still fast asleep, was entangled with him, her delicate hands clutching at his expensive designer shirt and did not look eager to let go any time soon. Sesshoumaru then stopped moving, not willing to disturb Kagura's head who was using his chest as a makeshift pillow.

"Rin and Kanna are hungry." The young human said letting go of the hold she had on Kanna's hand to rub her growling stomach. The two little girls had silently slipped out of bed, and walked hand in hand in the living room to find both Sesshoumaru and Kagura asleep holding on tightly to each other; to the duo's greatest pleasure.

"I will take care of you, but let Kagura sleep. Come on." The dog demon stood up, paying attention not to rouse Kagura. He gently placed back the blanket over her before heading towards the kitchen, both Rin and Kanna trailing happily behind him.

From the couch Kagura looked at the threesome leaving the living room area silently. None of them had noticed that she was actually awake, and she decided to take a few minutes of peace to reorganize her confused thoughts. Truth be told, all she could think about was how her past discussion with Sesshoumaru had served to reinforce her feelings for him. The way he had openly accepted her and her past, had melted her heart, and made her even happier, but what it did most was make her fall for him even more.

_`When did Sesshoumaru manage to get me to_ love _him this much?'_ She asked herself because she knew only love could make her want him so badly despite all that had happened between them. As she heard the clear laughter of both her daughter and Kanna coming from the kitchen, she could not resist getting up and joining them.

"Wow what do we have here?" Kagura asked. She walked inside the kitchen, her crimson gaze sweeping over the scene in front of her. Kanna and Rin were seated at the little kitchen table, slowly eating their bowl of cereal while Sesshoumaru was at the stove making scrambled eggs. The scene reminded Kagura of the times spent living with the dog demon in his penthouse, and the mornings when he would surprise Kanna and her with breakfast.

"Good morning mommy!" Kanna smiled happily at her mother.

"Good morning Miss Kagura!" Rin exclaimed at the same time.

"Good morning everyone." Even as Kagura responded, her eyes did not leave Sesshoumaru.

"We're having breakfast!" Rin said her deep brown eyes travelling from Kagura to her daughter.

"Yes I can see that. Do not stop on my account. Keep eating. Little girls need to eat to their full if they want to grow up." Kagura chuckled. She walked over to the table to gently ruffle both the heads of Kanna and Rin.

"The same goes for grown women who want to remain strong." The dog demon slid a plate of eggs towards Kagura. He had not forgotten the words of Suikotsu about her anemia, besides he also intended to have her regain the weight she had lost. During the time she had spent at his penthouse he had done his best to have her put some meat on her bones. He had greatly enjoyed her fuller figure, and rounder curves, and even though since she had moved out she had lost weight, he was sure he could make her gain it back by the time she moved back in with him.

Not bothering to protest, Kagura quickly dug into her plate of eggs. She knew it was one of the three things Sesshoumaru could `cook', the others being calling for delivery, or picking up take out.

The wind sorceress looked up from her plate, and frowned when she noticed Sesshoumaru look down at his watch. He caught her looking at him, and decided to explain his seemingly impatient behavior.

_`I would not put it past the witch to think that I am trying to run away from her or something, so I better explain myself.'_ "We need to hurry Rin. Haruka will not be very pleased with me if I take you back too late."

"Okay. Rin is almost done." The young human buried her face in her bowl, gulping the rest of her milk.

"Good." Kanna mumbled under her breath, even though Sesshoumaru had heard her, he pretended not to have. She may have accepted Rin, but she did not enjoy having to be in her presence. _`But I want Sesshoumaru to stay…'_ She sighed unhappily. She knew that he would have to leave at some point, but she had wanted him to stay with her and her mother a little while longer. `_Well as long as he gets back with mommy…'_

"It thought you said it was okay if she had a sleepover?" Kagura questioned the inu youkai.

"She has told me yesterday that it would be okay, but you never know with Haruka and how she may react." He scoffed. "She is known for having a very fickle nature." He had not forgotten about the young woman's behavior with his brother.

_`Hum he seems to know that mysterious Haruka a little too well, not to mention that she managed to make him do mentoring… I wonder what their_ real _relationship might be. She's obviously not the only woman he got close with during our `break.' There is also that mysterious silver haired demoness I saw him with in Kanna's mirror.'_ Kagura thought jealousy swelling inside her. Instead of complaining, she reached over to the nearby kitchen counter to grab the mug of coffee Sesshoumaru had made for her, and took a generous sip of the beverage. She sighed happily when she noticed he had remembered how she liked drinking her coffee; with lots of cream, but no sugar.

"Rin is all done!" The young human said as she jumped off the chair she was sitting on.

"Kanna too!" She exclaimed even if she could not stand up from her high chair. Luckily for the young youkai, her mother wasted no time to take her out of her chair. After placing a quick kiss to her daughter's cheek, the wind sorceress placed her on the kitchen floor.

"Good. We will be leaving now then. Rin go change back in your clothes." He instructed as he finished sipping his coffee and placed his empty mug inside Kagura's kitchen sink. The young human wasted no time rushing to the wind sorceress's bedroom, where she had left her clothes. She quickly changed out of the T-shirt Kagura had lent her, putting on her own jeans and orange shirt.

While the young human had gone to change, the three demons stayed in silence, until the wind sorceress broke it.

"So you're already leaving?" Kagura expressed her disappointment before her daughter did.

"Do not worry. The both of you will be seeing more of me from now on. Count on it." He gently said, his golden eyes staring into Kagura's crimson gaze. The way he had spoken made her shiver in pleasure.

"When are we going out again?" Kanna decided to ask.

"Hum next weekend?" He asked looking at the wind sorceress.

"Will Rin be there too?" Kanna asked looking up at Sesshoumaru.

"Would that bother you?" Her mother asked the young child.

"Hum maybe not." Both Kagura and Sesshoumaru looked at the young youkai with surprise. Kanna herself was shocked by her own answer, what shocked her the most was that she had actually been honest.

"Well as I told you before, I take Rin out every Saturday… maybe we could go to the park, or the swimming pool. I believe it is time to check on the swimming lessons I gave you a few months back." He reached down to place a comforting hand on Kanna's pale blond hair.

"Oh yes! Mommy please!" Kanna turned to look up at her mother with pleading eyes. The wind sorceress smiled lightly at the level of eagerness on the little girl's face; she still had a hard time getting used to seeing Kanna be this expressive.

"Well I guess next Saturday will be okay, even if we won't be able to stay out late. I have a big exam on Monday on a tough subject, and since I work on Sundays, Saturday is major study time for me." Only thinking about her upcoming Western history exam made her sigh.

"I see. We could always go to the pool on Saturday, and I could help you study on Sunday evening once you get off work, or even before you start your shift." The dog demon said a plan hatching in his mind.

"You'll help me study for my history exam?" The wind sorceress echoed his words. Now that she thought about it, having someone help her study the difficult material might make her understand the subject better.

"History has always been one of my favorite subjects, after painting and drawing." He smiled confidently. He was not telling a lie after all.

"Okay then. It's a date." Kagura smiled brightly at him. She decided to let him try to figure out what she had meant by her use of the word `date.'

"Rin is ready!" The child came tumbling inside the kitchen.

"Come on then let us go." Sesshoumaru said as he took Rin by the hand and walked towards the living room. He did pause to throw over his shoulder in as warm a voice as he could." We will see the both of you next weekend."

As he walked out of Kagura's small apartment, he knew that the looks inside the mother and daughter would stay with him until the next time they would see each other. Kanna's expression was easily readable as one of excitement and longing. However he was not sure what the enigmatic light in Kagura's crimsons orbs had meant, but he was looking forward to finding out.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Wow that was a long chapter. This talk had a long time coming, but wasn't it good? We'll see how things progress for our fave couple in **Meetings**. Soon some more old questions will be answered, but it'll have to wait a little bit. I have finals coming up, and tons of term project due… projects I should have started weeks ago tee-hee I'm such a procrastinator. Well in other words no updates next week for sure, we'll see about posting something the following one. Sorry!


	53. Meetings

_**Chapter 53:**_ _**Meetings**_

A/N: He he remember me? Your beloved author and dear friend… hint the name starts with an `S.' I am so sorry guys. I know I haven't updated in so long, and feel really bad about it hence the long update, and the accelerating plot. Enjoy!

Thanks for leaving me a review:

**Syzhale**

**Little25victor**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Rudhu** **(x12)**

**Soojinyeh**

**Kagura's number one fan** (How will their relationship evolve now that the truth is out? Good question)

Thanks to **Dogsfang** for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii** (I felt bad writing about Kagura's past too. Well we'll see about the spreading the love part.)

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

_`Thoughts'_

_`Come on Kagura, you can do this. This is nothing compared to some of the things you had to do in your life before.'_ She thought to herself, trying to muster courage. The wind sorceress readjusted her hold on her purse, trying to make herself feel more comfortable.

Her heart beating loudly in her chest, she took a deep breath then for the first time in a long time knocked on the front door of Sesshoumaru's penthouse.

_`Ugh how did he manage to make me agree to this again?'_ She wondered, nervousness spreading through her. When on the previous day, Sesshoumaru had called her and suggested she come to his apartment to study, she had not thought much of it. After all the penthouse was bigger, and more comfortable than her apartment, and it had a very spacious desk, which would come in handy with her studying session.

_`Unfortunately it also is Sesshoumaru's place...'_ Being closed up with the dog demon inside a place that meant so much to them was going to be hard, she knew it. _`I'll just have to try to make things not awkward.'_

Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door once more. Before she had the time to knock again, the door flew open and Sesshoumaru was standing in front of her, an impassive mask once more on his face.

"Kagura." He greeted her. He side stepped to let her walk inside. She wasted no time walking in, faking bravado she certainly did not have.

"Looks just the same to me. I'm glad to see you managed to keep things tidy around here. It looks much different from the time I first came here." She remarked her crimson gaze taking in the place she had once called home.

"This Sesshoumaru does not spend as much time at home as before." _`At least not_ _since_ _you and Kanna moved out.'_ He thought even if he dared not say that aloud.

"Ah it's true that you've always been quite a workaholic." She chuckled lightly. She was glad to see that despite her revelations of a week ago, they were still able to get along.

"You did not bring Kanna with you?" He asked surprised and disappointed. He walked towards his desk area, which he had taken great pains to clear up, and took a seat.

"No she's having a play date with Shippou. I figured it'd be easier for us to study if she weren't here. So how's Rin? I hope she wasn't too disappointed that we had to cancel our outing yesterday." Kagura said calmly. She followed him to the desk and sat next to him. Being this close to Sesshoumaru made her heart thump even harder, but breathing deeply she overcome her nervousness and settled in.

"She actually feels bad that we had to cancel due to her going out with the other children of the orphanage. I am also to blame, Haruka had told me that they had an outing, I simply forgot about it. Rin was disappointed, but I promised her we were just moving the date, not cancelling."

"Oh poor darling I hope Rin still tried to have some fun… or that the `evil' Rumi let her be." The wind sorceress sighed just as she reached inside her bag to retrieve her notebook and textbooks.

"The evil Rumi?" He questioned wondering what she was talking about.

_`Oh damn I guess Rin hadn't told him about her…'_ Kagura cursed to herself. She wanted the young human to trust her, and something told her that revealing her secrets were not part of the deal.

"Just some girl Rin has been having trouble with. I think she's her roommate or something." Kagura explained.

"Rin has been having trouble?" He echoed wondering why his young mentee had not said anything before.

"Don't go all angry-father and try to butt in. She's a stronger girl than you think, she'll be just fine; I'm sure of it." Kagura smiled at him. Seeing his concerned face almost made her smile.

"This Sesshoumaru is not behaving as an… `angry-father.'" The use of the expression surprised him. "I am merely concerned about Rin's well being. You may think she is strong, but despite her young age she has been through a lot." He said as he thought _`Well she_ is _my mentee, and therefore my responsibility. Any feelings I may have for her have nothing to do with my duty to protect her, and no fatherly feeling I may have for her.'_ He tried making sense of how he felt for the little girl. Had he been honest, he would have admitted that his wish to protect Rin, and make sure she would not feel pain, had nothing to do with his sense of duty, but rather with the fact that he plainly liked Rin. His feelings for Kanna had started the same. He had wanted to protect her, but now he simply did not want to let her out of his life.

"What happened to her?" Kagura asked worry spreading through her. As a mother of a young girl, and a girl who had been abused for most of her life, Kagura never wanted to see someone else get hurt; especially a young girl. Not to mention that talking about Rin's problems made sure hers and her week old revelations would not be mentioned.

"She was with her parents when they died in a car accident. After that she lost her ability to speak due to trauma." He let out in one breath.

"What? Oh I had no idea… but when did she start speaking again? When she moved to the orphanage?" Kagura asked feeling her heart break.

"No. When she met me. I am the first person she felt comfortable enough to speak to; although, I do not see why." He said thoughtfully. For a long time he had wondered why Rin had chose him, and no matter how he turned the question in his mind, he could not find an answer.

"Are you really asking that? Sesshoumaru you're a wonderful person. You're able to make people feel safe, comforted and so good… without even trying. I mean you've been so good to Kanna and me and good for us too. I'm not surprised Rin chose you too. She must have seen in you what I see in you." Her softly spoken words would have made him blush, had he been prone to.

Seeing Kagura this close to him, hearing her speak so highly and fondly of him, almost made his resolve of staying away from her crumble to pieces. He wanted the wind sorceress back in his life, and in his bed, and was tired of waiting.

_`However I am a patient man. I will not rush and ruin everything. Now that she has come this close to me, I must make sure not to waste all my efforts by trying to rush back into a relationship. Now is the time to tread carefully.'_ He thought repressing a sigh.

"You do know…" She started again.

"Kagura" He however quickly interrupted her. "Let us start with your lesson; I am sure you are eager to get back to Kanna." He tried changing the subject as he felt uncomfortable with the topic they were discussing.

"Hum you're always so eager to give out comforting words and compliments, but never want any in return. That's okay, we have time to work on that." She smiled at him before opening her book to the first chapter she had a hard time with. "Fine I'll let you be for now. Onto Western Civilization history!"

"I doubt this Sesshoumaru has mentioned it before, but during my own college years I have devised an infallible technique to remember historical dates. Due to it I have always received perfect grades. Many have asked me about it, but I never shared it before. Not even with my idiotic younger half-brother. Of course as I promised I will share it with you."

"Hum what is it?" She asked intrigued.

"Let me demonstrate." He smiled slightly. "Close your eyes." He instructed. Even if she wanted to refuse, she complied. Her curiosity was too much for her to resist him. He then took a small item he had placed on the desk before Kagura arrived, and put his secret technique in place.

"What the…?" She asked when she felt something sticky being placed on her forehead. She had also felt the comforting and much missed warmth of the dog demon's hand, but did not comment on it.

"You can open your eyes." He instructed to the curious young woman. She wasted no time in doing as he said, and was shocked at what she found.

"Hum Sessh. Am I mistaken or is there a post-it stuck on my head?" She asked rolling her eyes upward to stare at the offending piece of yellow paper.

"You are not mistaken." He simply answered, not providing any more explanation.

"And would you mind telling me why it's there?" She tried remaining as calm as possible, and considering the situation, she felt she was doing a good job.

"Well it obviously is my secret technique." He said resisting the urge to sigh at her apparent annoyance.

Kagura quickly reached up and plucked the post-it from her skin, and brought it down to stare at it.

"You made me come all the way to your place, under the pretense of helping me study… for this? To stick a piece of freaking paper on my forehead?" She glared at him.

"Do you not trust me? This Sesshoumaru knows what I am doing, and I assured you of the efficiency of my method." He said trying not to appear offended.

"Of course I trust you… but seriously… I just thought you were going to teach me something useful, and actually useable." She placated him by placing a hand to his stripped cheek, gently cupping it. Even as she crumpled the sticky yellow paper with her other hand.

"Fine." He felt his body stir in pleasure at feeling her skin on his. "There is another way of learning. The one I used with Inuyasha when we were younger and that father forced me to help him study." Sesshoumaru could almost feel a scowl appear on his face at thinking about how his younger brother enjoyed making his life hell, even Kagura's gentle touch on his skin could not make him forget about his grudging and endless study sessions with his brother.

"Okay, and what is it?" She asked staring right inside his bright golden eyes. She relinquished the hold she had on him reluctantly, and gathered her hands in her lap.

Before answering he stood up and placed himself behind her, his hand placed on her thin shoulders and firmly keeping her in place in her chair. Without needing to apply a lot of force or pressure, his strong grip ensured she would not be able to move. "You will repeat these dates again and again until you are able to recite them by heart perfectly. You will sit here and study without a break. You will not even stand up from this chair. You will…"

"So stop breathing until you say so…" She cut him. The smile on her lips betrayed the fact that she was not as upset as she tried to sound.

"That was not amusing. We have just wasted enough time. Now let us get to work." He said masking his rising amusement.

"Why do I feel like I'm going to regret my decision?" She sighed.

"Now let us start with the Hundred Year's War." He ignored her comment, yet smiled slightly at the way her shoulders sank under his palms.

* * *

The red eyed demoness stared up at the glass window in front of her. She knew what she had to do, and even if she did not like it one bit, knew the time had come to face her past.

_`The time for me to put a stop to this has come. I tried evading it for too long. It's now time to face up.'_ A sigh escaping her red lips, she pushed through the door and walked into the welcoming air conditioned air of the family owned restaurant.

* * *

"Ugh good lord! Did you work for the army in another life? You're as relentless as a drill sergeant terrorizing a poor recruit." Kagura sighed as she finally closed her book.

"As long as you are successful." He smiled down at her before disappearing inside the kitchen, and coming back with drink refills.

"I better be. You've been driving me relentlessly for hours." She said as she took the cup of tea he extended towards her, and gently sipped it.

"You said you had one more chapter to cover, did you not?" He asked drinking some of his own beverage. His golden strayed to his watch, and a sigh escaped as he noticed the late time. He knew that soon Kagura would have to go back to her daughter, which unnerved him since he felt the two of them should have moved back with him by now.

"Yeah but it seems I forgot my book at home… Crap actually I think I forgot it at work. I brought it so I could study during my break." Kagura almost felt like banging her head against the wall at remembering her carelessness.

"You can always retrieve it when you pick up Kanna at the shrine." He pointed out to her.

"No actually I left it at my other job. The one at the restaurant. I'll have to stop there before I go to the Higurashi's." She sighed angry at herself.

"Well I guess I should leave now if I have to do one more stop." She stood up and quickly put away her study materials in her bag. "I'd like to thank you for your help. I'm glad I took you on your offer. Hopefully I'll get a good grade on my test."

"You will." He assured her as he followed her to the front door of his penthouse. Even if he did not speak the words, the dog demon was unnerved by the fact that he had to let her leave his side once again.

"I'll think of a way to thank you for your help… maybe another pie. Kanna did enjoy baking the last one for you." She said a bright smile appearing suddenly on her lips at the prospect of making something special for him again.

"I enjoyed eating it… that is until Inuyasha discovered it during one of his frequent raids of my fridge. Unfortunately there was not much left after he was done with it." He chuckled slightly. His words made Kagura laugh out loud.

"Aw poor dear. We'll make sure to bake you another one, but this time please be sure to keep your grubby brother away" She joked, truly amused.

"That would be acceptable." He loved seeing the bright smile painted on her dark cherry lips. _`Only a simple kiss would not hurt…'_ He thought the urge to press his lips to hers growing inside him.

She did not try to avoid him when he bent forward to press a gentle kiss on her unsuspecting lips. To his surprise, just as he was about to step away, she weaved a hand in his long silver hair, cradling his head in her palm and pushing him forward towards her. Kagura did not hesitate to gently flick her tongue against his lips. He was slightly taken aback by her sudden deepening of the gentle peck he had intended, but gladly welcomed it.

Finally able to release the passion he felt for Kagura, Sesshoumaru hugged her close to him, and eagerly let their tongues entwine and caress. Kagura moaned when she felt his arms encircle her. She passionately responded to his hard kiss, and hungrily pressed her body against his. She was highly disappointed when he suddenly broke their lips apart.

"You better go. Kanna must be waiting for you." He said breathing deeply, trying to catch his breath. He then placed a little peck to her forehead. He had meant to get one last taste of her without being too much in danger. After all he knew that if they shared one more kiss like the one they just had, Kagura would surely end up in his bed, under him, and he feared it was too soon for them to engage in this type of activity.

"Yeah. I guess you're right… I'll call you, and see about rescheduling the pool outing. Kanna's been meaning to show you how much progress she's made when it comes to swimming." Kagura said as she gently caressed his soft bangs, inviting him to kiss her again. Even though she was not glad that he did not reiterate their earlier lip lock, she did not dare try to initiate another kiss.

_`Why am I such a coward? I should just go with it, and kiss him just like I really want to…'_ She sighed unhappily. _`Then again I guess it's better if he's the one doing the kissing; I just want to make sure he truly still wants me.'_

"Did you take her swimming?" He asked her in surprise, as he gently caressed her arms, refraining himself from kissing her again; no matter how much he wanted to.

"No she's been practicing on our living room floor. You should see her pretending to swim, it's just too cute." She chuckled gently, doing her best not to have Sesshoumaru notice the shiver of pleasure that went through her when he touched her.

"I am looking forward to it." He stopped caressing her and took a step backward.

"Sesshoumaru?" She suddenly asked him, forced to reluctantly drop the hold she had on him.

"What is it?" He asked cautiously, feeling the change of demeanor and disappointment in her.

"What are we doing? I mean I don't mind the kissing and all, but does that mean we're back together?" Her sudden question caused him to stop and ponder.

_`I knew such a thing would eventually happen. I better be careful lest I want things not to turn in my favor.'_ He thought to himself suddenly worried.

"Well Kagura, it is your decision to make." He let out, as much as he wanted to make her see they should get back together.

_`MY decision? Is he kidding? He has a say too.'_ She thought disappointed by his weak answer. _`In any case had he wanted us to get back together he would have been more direct as usual… I knew telling him about my past would impact the idea he has of me no matter how much he denies it. Not to mention that he still hasn't told me anything about the mysterious woman he was with the day Kanna spied on him with her mirror.'_

"Ah okay." She said coldly, all traces of her previous warmth gone. "Well I'd like to take a little time to think about it. Anyways I have to run, but I'll call you soon." She first reached for the door, aiming to simply leave, but at the last second changed her mind. She turned around and walked back toward the surprised dog demon, and reached up to press a kiss to his lips. Without offering a word of explanation she marched back through the door of his penthouse and left.

His golden eyes strayed to his window where the clear night sky was visible. _`Soon I will have you back in my life, and in my bed.'_ He thought his mind flashing back to the steaming kiss the two of them had just shared moments before. His golden eyes then followed her as she disappeared towards the elevators. He tried to calm his blood, frustration rolling through him, causing him to use much more force than necessary to close his front door.. He then walked back to his desk to get back to work, making a mental note to take another freezing cold shower before going to bed.

* * *

"Kagura? What are you doing here dear? You're not scheduled to work tonight." Mayumi Yamamoto asked the wind sorceress as soon as she pushed past the doors of the restaurant's service entrance.

"Just passing through. I seem to have forgotten the textbook I was studying from yesterday." Kagura explained to the old tiger demoness just as she pushed through the service door of the restaurant.

"Yep I placed it inside your locker, I hope you don't mind." Ai told her friend and coworker before disappearing back inside the dining room, arms full of laden plates.

"Well since you're here you might go give Ai a hand… literally. We have a full house tonight. It's one of our busiest dinner service in a long time." Kenji told Kagura.

"Are you kidding? It is her day off, so why would she come work? Kagura do not listen to him. Grab your book and go home. Go have fun with your cute daughter before you put her to sleep tonight." Mayumi scolded her husband. The old tiger demon only grunted in the direction of his wife, just as he threw a few herbs in the large pot he was stirring.

"Well I hate to ask that of you Kagura, but we could use a little help out there. Kola called in sick, so we could use an extra set of hands… only for a little while. There's a party of ten that just came in, so we've been swamped all of a sudden." Ai said as she ran back through the door leading to the public part of the restaurant. She stopped as something just occurred to her, and added to Kagura before leaving again. "Besides there's a patron here that's been asking for you."

"Asking for me?" Kagura echoed just as she crossed the kitchen, and hurried after Ai.

"Yeah it's the woman seated over there, at the counter." The young tiger demoness pointed with her chin towards the figure of a white haired woman seating nearby, sipping on a glass of sparkling water with lemon wedges in it.

Kagura felt a gasp escape her lips as she saw that the woman was none other than Sakura Fujimori, the void demoness she had met at the Higurashi shrine a few weeks back, then again at her local grocery store.

_`What could she want from me? And how did she even know I work here?'_ The wind sorceress wondered in shock. Not being one to back up from a challenge, she marched right up to the stranger.

"Can I help you?" Kagura asked. Sakura wasted no time to turn around, a bright smile on her beautiful face.

"Good evening to you. I was just hoping to see you Kagura and…"

"What do you want?" The wind sorceress interrupted the older demoness.

"Well it is quite simple. I wish to speak to you my dear." Sakura smiled as she took to her feet to face Kagura.

"Just shut up! How in the hell did you know I work here?" Kagura shouted, shocked that the woman seemed to at ease and happy to hear from her.

"Please Kagura come down. I can explain everything. Everything will make sense if you let me explain. Just listen to me." Sakura said gently, a smile still on her lips. She stared straight into Kagura's deep crimson eyes, which mirrored hers perfectly. Even if she wanted to touch the young woman, and appease her, she dared not.

"Do not tell me what the hell I should do!" Kagura screamed at her angrily.

"Is everything alright here?" None other than Kenji appeared behind Kagura.

"I'm sorry for causing a scene like that." She turned around to face her boss, an apologetic expression on her face.

"Don't worry about it kid." The old tiger demon said gruffly. "Now ma'am in my restaurant we reserve the right to refuse service to clients as we please, so I'd greatly appreciate it if you left." The old tiger youkai gently flexed his large arm muscles. He would never raise his hand to a woman, but he wanted her to understand that he was serious in protecting Kagura.

"Kagura dear I am sorry if I am making things uncomfortable for you here. I only meant to talk to you for a little while. Please… I beg you. It has to do with your father…" Sakura said red eyes gleaming.

"What does Naraku have to do with this?" The wind sorceress said without realizing it, anger and fear rippling through her. After learning of the blackmail on Sesshoumaru Naraku had done, she was worried of what her father might do to her next. She knew how easily he could make people suffer if he wished to.

"That's just it. Naraku Onigumo is _not_ your father." Sakura let out in one breath.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Things will be heating up next time, but to what point, we'll see in **Late night reunion**. See wasn't the wait worth your while? A kiss and a big revelation! I'm too kind to my readers. Unfortunately don't expect an update for a little while. I am SO sorry about that, but due to finals and work I have less time for writing, but let me reassure you once again that I have no intention of dropping the story!


	54. Late night reunion

_**Chapter 54: Late night reunion**_

A/N: Surprise ! Yep yep it's an actual update. Not much to say. It 's all in the title, so **citrus** warning in the chapter !. For those who do not enjoy citrus, be warned that it will be in the second half of the chapter :P

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**Syzhale**

**Little25victor **

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Rudhu **

**Soojinyeh**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**Dshadodragon**

**FallenAngelsFeelNoLove**

**Iz-insane **(Bear with me, the waiting will not go along for too long)

**Rogue reader **(No worries there won't be any story dropping. There'll be more between the lovers in this one, I'm sure you'll be glad)

Once again thanks to **Dogsfang **for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(Ah I am glad I managed to catch you by surprise. As per my habit however all will be revealed slowly as I am sure you guessed)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"_Just shut up! How in the hell did you know I work here?" Kagura shouted, shocked that the woman seemed to at ease and happy to hear from her._

"_Please Kagura come down. I can explain everything. Everything will make sense if you let me explain. Just listen to me." Sakura said gently, a smile still on her lips. She stared straight into Kagura's deep crimson eyes, which mirrored hers perfectly. Even if she wanted to touch the young woman, and appease her, she dared not._

"_Do not tell me what the hell I should do!" Kagura screamed at her angrily._

"_Is everything alright here?" None other than Kenji appeared behind Kagura._

"_I'm sorry for causing a scene like that." She turned around to face her boss, an apologetic expression on her face._

"_Don't worry about it kid." The old tiger demon said gruffly. "Now ma'am in my restaurant we reserve the right to refuse service to clients as we please, so I'd greatly appreciate it if you left." The old tiger youkai gently flexed his large arm muscles. He would never raise his hand to a woman, but he wanted her to understand that he was serious in protecting Kagura._

"_Kagura dear I am sorry if I am making things uncomfortable for you here. I only meant to talk to you for a little while. Please… I beg you. It has to do with your father…" Sakura said red eyes gleaming._

"_What does Naraku have to do with this?" The wind sorceress said without realizing it, anger and fear rippling through her. After learning of the blackmail on Sesshoumaru Naraku had done, she was worried of what her father might do to her next. She knew how easily he could make people suffer if he wished to._

"_That's just it. Naraku Onigumo is not your father." Sakura let out in one breath._

"What did you just say?" Kagura asked in shock, taking a step back.

_'I must have misheard. It couldn't be.' _She then thought to herself. Her body felt suddenly numb and cold. The words spoken by Sakura were simply not fathomable by the young demoness. She took one more step back and bumped right into Kenji's broad torso. The tiger demon, who was still glowering at Sakura, raised both hands to steady Kagura.

"Please Kagura let me explain. I need to talk to you, but not here. Please hear me out." Sakura's dark crimson eyes started shinning brilliantly once she realized that her chance to make things right might be slipping between her perfectly manicured fingers.

"Kagura, do you want me to get you rid of her?" Her boss asked, his piercing eyes scanned the dining room of his restaurant, forcing the curious onlookers to turn their gaze away. Only his granddaughter Ai dared keep her orbs stuck on the unfolding drama.

The wind sorceress stopped to ponder on the question. Something in the older woman's widened red eyes called to her. It was an expression her own eyes frequently displayed before she had met Sesshoumaru: a mix of fear and desperation.

_'Why is she this desperate to talk to me?' _Kagura wondered before saying aloud "No boss. Thanks, but I'm good. I'll just step out for a second and talk to her."

"Thank you." Sakura managed to let out, choking on emotion. She could see the uncertainty in Kagura's eyes, and wanted to touch her, comfort her, but did not dare.

"Fine do what you believe is best, but if she gives you trouble…" Kenji started just as his wife Mayumi arrived to interject "Kagura will be sure to call us for help. Now go along dear." The older tiger demoness said as she nudged the wind sorceress away from Kenji's protective hold, and towards the entrance of the restaurant. Mayumi, the old and always wise tiger demoness recognized the look in Sakura's eyes, and knew she would not harm Kagura in any way.

_'No, Kagura has no need to worry. After all no woman would ever hurt her own child.' _The uncanny resemblance Sakura shared with Kagura and Kanna had not gone unnoticed by the tiger demoness, nor had the look of longing in the older void demoness. Kagura had not told her employers a lot about her life growing up, but Mayumi could tell she had had a hard life so far.

_'The poor child has suffered enough. I just hope she will find some happiness.' _Mayumi silently prayed. "Come on old man, let's get back to work. We have a restaurant to take care of. The dinner meal isn't going to get cooked by itself." She then pushed her husband towards the kitchen, preventing his protective eyes from following Kagura and the mysterious Mrs. Fujibayashi as they stepped outside, inside the chilly night air.

"I see you have great people in your life. These tiger demons seem to care a lot about you; I am pleased." Sakura risked a shy smile at the young woman standing across from her. The two were standing merely a few feet away from the entrance of the restaurant.

"I don't have time for niceties. What is it you want from me?" The wind sorceress offered in response. "How is it you know of Naraku?"

"How I wanted things to be different… Well I guess there is no need to hide the truth anymore. Enough time has been wasted anyways. The truth is that I have known about you for so long. Actually since you were born…. You see Kagura I am… your mother." Sakura stopped breathing then. She feared too much her daughter's reaction to dare take a next breath.

Kagura sucked in a sharp breath. As shocked as she was, it was really amusement at the ridiculousness of the situation that really prevailed inside her.

_'Good god! Naraku has better find better ways to mess with me than this.' _She thought to herself a bittersweet smile on her lips. She was convinced that it was her father that was behind the sudden appearance of the mysterious Sakura.

"Yeah right. I don't believe that for one second. It is impossible. My mother was a wind sorceress…" _'Not a rich pampered woman.' _Kagura could not help but mentally add, her eyes going from the expensive designer shoes of the woman standing opposite her, then up her perfectly tailored clothes to rest on the crimson eyes which mirrored hers.

Her accidental observation made her suddenly pause. Now that she looked at Sakura, Kagura came to realize the resemblance between the two of them, not to mention the one between her daughter and Sakura's son Hakudoushi, who she had seen a picture of.

_'I shouldn't let these coincidences get to me…' _She tried to convince herself even as doubt started growing inside her.

"Is that what that bastard told you? He lied… Naraku is not your father, but I am your mother…. If you want proof, I can give you proof…. You have a small birthmark on your back. I saw it the day I gave birth to you."

The gasp Kagura let out at her revelation was indication enough to the older demoness that she had said the truth. It was enough to bring a smile to Sakura's lips.

_'There is no doubt to have this time around. She really is _my _baby.' _The void demoness looked in the deep crimson eyes to the woman she had given birth to, and finally felt at peace.

"Ah my sweet Kagura, I have been dying to be with you, and talk to you for the longest time. I've wanted to be near you for so long." The void demoness reached for Kagura's arm, and took her hand in hers. Finally able to touch her daughter made her heart flutter in happiness.

"There is so much that I need… and want to tell you. Ah honey, I feel so silly right now, for I do not even know where to start." She added, lifting her arms to encircle her daughter in a tight hug. She was however extremely disappointed when Kagura pushed her arms away and glared at her.

"Do not touch me! If… and I don't believe it… if what you said is true…" She interrupted herself to take a deep breath. After all as convincing as Sakura may have sounded, Kagura was still trying not to believe her words. "…then I don't want to have anything to do with you! You sicken me. How could you… how could you leave me with that monster? Having him raise me, and leave me believe that my parents had abandoned me? You're worst of a monster than Naraku." Kagura spat angrily at her mother.

"No Kagura it wasn't like that…. I swear that's not what happened. This is why I need to speak to you honey. Please let me explain!" Sakura cried out, tears pooling on her crimson eyes and trailing down her pale cheeks.

"Circumstances forced me to leave you behind… I know it may sound like it, but I am not making excuses, but I just wish you would hear me out. Please listen to me and what I have to say." She added her heart breaking at the sight of Kagura's closed off face.

"There is nothing to explain. Stay away from me. I don't want to have anything to do with you. I don't want to ever hear about you, or see you. Don't you dare show your face at my work place again, or anywhere near my apartment." Suddenly Kagura thought back to the last few months and put the pieces back together. She was now convinced that it had been Sakura's presence she had felt following her all this time, not Naraku.

"I don't know how you came to find out that much information about my life and my daughter, but I swear that if you ever come close to us, or try to hurt us I will make you pay. I don't know what it is that Naraku is trying to accomplish by using you, but you can tell him that he won't get a dime from me or from Sesshoumaru!" Kagura was convinced that Sakura was in league with her father, and only meant to hurt her and the people she cared about.

_'I don't really believe for one second her entire bullshit about being my mother, no matter how much she may look like me. I wouldn't put it past my dear old dad to use an actress who has crimson eyes resembling my own to implement his vengeance. After all I know better than anyone how conniving and manipulating that bastard can be. Even the thing about my birthmark could be either a coincidence, or Naraku telling her.' _Kagura thought to herself, feeling the usual bitter taste in her mouth at thinking about her father.

Without bothering to explain more about her threat, or give Sakura a chance to explain herself, Kagura turned around. She was not willing to spend another minute in the company of the older demoness, so decided to run away.

"Kagura!" Sakura chocked on her tears as she called the younger demoness, with who she wanted so badly to speak. "KAGURA!"

Pretending not to hear the woman screaming after her, the wind sorceress kept running. Her world had just fallen apart, and there was only one place she could think of going. She ran on and on, ignoring the burn in her lungs or the tears blurring her vision.

* * *

Sesshoumaru Takahashi was settled behind his desk, working diligently. Ever since he had remodeled his advertising agency, everyone had even more work to do, and being the CEO he needed to show his employees they were not the only ones suffering from the big changes the company had went through.

With the aid of his sharp hearing Sesshoumaru heard a knock at his door. After letting out an exasperate sigh, he dropped the pencil he had been actively drawing with, and took to his feet. With a few powerful strides he was at the door, and opened to see who had dared disturb him during one of his most creative times.

_'As long as it is not my idiotic brother…'_ He thought to himself, knowing the presence of the hanyou could be enough to cause one of his recurring headaches.

"Kagura?" He gasped in shock as the figure of the beautiful wind sorceress was revealed once he opened the door. "Did you forget something earlier?" He asked wondering if she had left a book behind after their study session

"No. I'm back. I came to see you. I can't stay away from you anymore Sesshoumaru. I want you. I love you, and so does Kanna. Leaving you was the stupidest mistake I have ever made, and I regret it deeply." She said all in one breath as she threw herself in his arms. Due to the shock of her sudden revelation, he almost did not catch her in time. However when the meaning of her words sunk inside his stunned brain, he wasted no time enveloping her in a tight hug.

"I have my wrongs too." He looked down into her shimmering crimson eyes.

"I don't care anymore. Soon I'll have to go pick up Kanna. I… we don't have long, so we should make better use of our time than blaming each other." The words had barely left her lips, that she pressed a searing kiss to the dog demon's lips.

Happiness soaring through him, he eagerly responded to her kiss. He did not want to spend what little time they still had to spend together in his hallway, so he gently scooped her in his arms and after closing the front door behind them, lead Kagura towards _their _bedroom.

"Hmm I missed you so much." She murmured in his ear before gently nibbling on the sensitive appendage, causing a shiver of desire to ripple through him.

Sesshoumaru gently deposited his woman on their bed before doing fast work of ridding her of her clothes. She let out few moans and giggles as he slipped off her shirt then pants. Only once she was reduced to her underwear did he let her touch him. It was actually only then that he truly had the feeling that Kagura was indeed back by his side, where she belonged. Seeing her underwear clad supple body was proof enough of her feelings for him.

The wind sorceress raised herself on her knees before pressing a quick kiss to the crook of her lovers' neck; a spot she knew was extremely sensitive for him. Kagura then wasted no time to reacquaint herself with his smooth satiny pale skin, and let her hands quickly roam all around him, paying great attention to run her fingers over his well designed chest and abs even if they were still masked from her view by his clothes..

"I missed you too much. I can't wait. I want you now." She sighed before opening his shirt and pressing a kiss to the center of his chest. A growl of appreciation formed in his throat as he let himself fall down, taking her with him. His hands were then everywhere on her at once, touching and caressing, enjoying their reunion. The dog demon's lips then travelled from her lips down to her body. With expert fingers he unfastened the latch of her bra, and sent the frilly red underwear flying across the room, where it lay forgotten.

"How could I go on without you for so long?" She moaned out when his lips fastened around her nipple. She felt him chuckle against her skin, adding on to her pleasure.

Not liking to be so passive, she gently pushed him away before sliding down his body, in search to please him. His eyes clouded over when she unfastened his pants and reached inside his underwear. He shuddered violently when her skin came in contact with his.

"Seems like you missed me Sesshy. Now let's see how much _he_ missed me." She chuckled just before lowering her head to his lap, her crimson eyes never looking away from his darkened amber gaze.

"Kagura!" He gasped just as his eyes flew open. The dog demon rubbed his eyes and noticed with shock that he had fallen asleep over his desk while working on his latest campaign.

_'Pitiful. It was just another dream. I knew it was too good to be true anyways.' _He thought to himself as he looked down to stare at his painfully aroused length, confined in his pants. _'I better go take _another_ cold shower.' _He thought angrily just as he stood up from behind his desk to go to his bathroom.

On his way there he divested himself of his clothing. He did feel slightly guilty at seeing how he had carelessly thrown his clothes around.

_'Kagura would have my head had she been here.' _He smiled fondly remembering how the wind sorceress would always insist he place his clothes in the hamper, not on the floor of his apartment.

Eager to calm down his heated blood, he wasted no time, and turned on his shower. He shivered slightly, but let the cold water cool him down. Just as he reached for his soap, to his shock he heard the doorbell of his penthouse ring. He muffled a curse at having to shorten his much needed shower, but still decided to answer. Turning off the water, he quickly stepped out of his shower, and grabbed a towel on his way to the door. He took the time to tie the pieces of cloth around his waist before answering the relentless sound of his doorbell.

A gasp almost escaped his lips as he saw none other than Kagura standing on his doorstep.

'_Please let it not be a dream.'_ He thought as he pinched his water slick arm. As the slight pain registered through him, he realized that he indeed was wide awake. However the reenactment of his earlier fantasy stopped when he noticed the tears pouring from Kagura's eyes.

"Kagura? What's wrong?" He asked concerned.

"Sesshoumaru. I need you." To his dismay she suddenly broke down in tears in front of him.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Did you really think I was going to give you a reunion lemon this early? Sorry, but I'm too evil for that lol. Will Kagura ever find out the truth about her parentage? What will happen between her and Sesshoumaru? We'll see next time in **Safe haven**. There will be an update next week, probably on Wednesday, so keep an eye open for it!


	55. Safe haven

_**Chapter 55: Safe haven**_

A/N: I'm glad I managed to trick you with the almost lemon he he he. Is it time for our two love birds to be reunited for good? We shall see…

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**Syzhale**

**Little25victor **

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Soojinyeh**

**Dshadodragon**

**FallenAngelsFeelNoLove**

**Rogue reader **(The faith you have in the quality of my writing amazes me. Thanks a lot.)

**90sgurl **(Thanks for the support!)

Once again thanks to **Dogsfang **for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii Congrats on leaving the 80****th**** review on Media miner **(There will be tons of Sessh/Kagura bonding time in this chapter. Will she listen to Sakura though ?…)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

_On his way to his bathroom he divested himself of his clothing. He did feel slightly guilty at seeing how he had carelessly thrown his clothes around._

'Kagura would have my head had she been here.'_ He smiled fondly remembering how the wind sorceress would always insist he place his clothes in the hamper, not on the floor of his apartment._

_Eager to calm down his heated blood, he wasted no time, and turned on his shower. He shivered slightly, but let the cold water cool him down. Just as he reached for his soap, to his shock he heard the doorbell of his penthouse ring. He muffled a curse at having to shorten his much needed shower, but still decided to answer. Turning off the water, he quickly stepped out of his shower, and grabbed a towel on his way to the door. He took the time to tie the pieces of cloth around his waist before answering the relentless sound of his doorbell._

_A gasp almost escaped his lips as he saw none other than Kagura standing on his doorstep._

'_Please let it not be a dream.' He thought as he pinched his water slick arm. As the slight pain registered through him, he realized that he indeed was wide awake. However the reenactment of his earlier fantasy stopped when he noticed the tears pouring from Kagura's eyes._

"_Kagura? What's wrong?" He asked concerned._

_"Sesshoumaru. I need you." To his dismay she suddenly broke down in tears in front of him._

* * *

After her confrontation with Sakura, Kagura could only think of escaping. She knew that she needed to go somewhere she would be safe, and only one place came to her mind. Before she even realized it, the wind sorceress found herself in front of the door of her safe haven. She was not sure how she had gotten there. Considering the large distance, she was sure she must have taken the bus, but she really could not remember doing it. Very soon she found herself back in Sesshoumaru's apartment, where she felt so at ease.

Now she sat next to her savior, comfortably settled on his couch, with him seated next to her, she finally managed to calm down and force the tears down. She was aware that the dog demon was waiting for her to speak, to explain herself, but could not bring forth enough strength to do it.

"It seems like I interrupted your shower." She said staring at the wall, her crimson eyes not daring to turn to stare at the half naked man next to her. Despite the turmoil she found herself in, his water slick naked torso was however very appealing to her. Not to mention that she was itching to run her fingers through his long mass of damp silver mane. She could still remember how soft his long hair felt under her touch even when wet.

"Kagura, why don't you start by explaining yourself? What happened? Is Kanna alright?" He asked worried. Last he had heard the wind sorceress was on her way to pick up her daughter, and Sesshoumaru feared something might have happened to the young child. He was sure that only Kanna being harmed could make Kagura look as distraught as she did now. After all he had been with her the two times she had to take her daughter to Suikotsu's clinic, and could easily remember the look of panic in Kagura's eyes.

_'Kanna!' _Kagura thought worriedly. '_I know I should go back to her, but I can't... not right now.'_ Getting out of her thoughts she turned to look up at the man who was next to her. She could tell that he was worried, and decided to calm him down. _'I haven't seen Kanna yet, but I'm sure she's fine. She's still at the shrine. I trust Hana and Kagome to take care of her.'_

"Kanna is fine. She's still with Mrs. Higurashi." The wind sorceress simply said. Only thinking about her daughter made fresh tears come to her eyes. She could not imagine for one second that Sakura Fujibayashi was telling the truth about her parentage; especially due to the implications it could have for her daughter.

A sense of relief washing through him, Sesshoumaru reached for a side table where a box of tissues had been placed by the wind sorceress several weeks back, and extended it to Kagura. She gratefully wiped her tears and blew her nose before taking a calming deep breath.

"Are you feeling better now? Can you tell me what happened?" He asked staring down at the woman sitting next to him. He slightly shivered as a cool night breeze came in from the opened window and came in contact with his wet skin. After discovering Kagura at his doorstep, Sesshoumaru was so shocked that he did not even take the time to get dressed, nor towel himself dry; decisions he now slightly regretted.

"Yes… do you remember the woman I talked to you about? The void youkai who gave me advice on Kanna." She then almost scoffed at remembering the concern Sakura had shown towards her and her daughter. At Sesshoumaru's nod she added "Well she was at the restaurant when I dropped by to pick up my book." She then suddenly paused as the previous events came rushing back to her mind.

"And what happened then?" He probed her.

"Well she just went on to inform me that Naraku isn't my father, and that she should know since she's my mother, crazy no?" Speaking the words out once more caused tears to brim in her eyes. _'Damn it! Why can't I stop these freaking tears? I've never looked so weak before. What's wrong with me?'_

Sesshoumaru intently stared at Kagura as he sucked in a breath in shock before asking "Could she be telling the truth?"

"I don't know." She breathed as she realized that speaking the words aloud made it seem even more real to her. "I really have no idea. Ever since she told me that, I've been going crazy in my head trying to remember anything, and scrap my brain to see if there could be an ounce of truth behind whatever she said. I don't have any memories of my mother, but that doesn't mean she could be telling the truth, does it?" The fact that Sakura had known about her birthmark, and the resemblance she shared with her and Kanna, scared Kagura a lot, and confused her.

"Based on the way you speak, it sounds as if you actually think there is a chance this Sakura might be telling the truth." He noted thoughtfully. Kagura's sudden appearance on his doorstep had shocked him, but her revelations had almost rendered him speechless.

_'Even now Naraku still manages to torture her. I have no doubt he has something to do with this Fujibayashi woman. From the moment Kagura mentioned her long ago, I found her interest in Kanna suspicious.' _The dog demon thought angered beyond words. As unnerved as he was he however did not let Kagura see his true feelings by fear of upsetting her more than she already was.

"I don't know, and it pisses me off! If she's right... if she's telling the truth… but then why come find me now?" Kagura took to her feet as a feeling of anger and hatred burned through her, replacing her earlier confusion. "What would she suddenly come into my life, and fuck up everything? She had almost a quarter of a freaking century since I was born to come forward, so why now? Where was she when I would have needed her, and why would she let me live with Naraku? And why..." Realizing what she had just said, and that she sounded as if she wanted to know more about the mysterious void demoness, Kagura quickly added "In any case well if she's really my mother, then I don't need her... I've done very well without her. Kanna's doing good too, and we can do just fine without her, and her useless advice."

"Well at least _if _she is telling the truth, it might explain where Kanna got her void demon genes, and why she was so eager to advise you on her powers..." At his words Kagura's face turned into a frown.

"I hadn't even thought about that. I guess that's another proof that what she's saying is... I mean _could_ be the truth..." She still hung to the idea that her life until that day had not been a complete lie.

Sesshoumaru silently observed her forlorn look before deciding that the best think she would need was a warm drink and a good night's sleep. "Maybe I should make you something to drink to help calm down your nerves. A tea maybe?" He asked rhetorically as he too stood up, paying care to keep his towel in place. Of course it wasn't anything Kagura had not seen before, but taking into consideration her present distressed situation, he was sure getting an eyeful of him was not something she would relish.

"That wouldn't help. I'd rather have some of that powerful whiskey you have in that cupboard on the left in the kitchen. Oh and also put some clothes on before you catch a freaking cold." She added a small smile appearing on her dark red lips.

"Dog demons as this Sesshoumaru do not get colds. Did I not tell you that already?" He asked regally just as with great flourish, he pushed a lock of wet silver hair out of his eye, the ironical contradiction between his action and his word caused Kagura to suddenly dissolve into laughter.

"I'm sorry." She managed to let out after a long minute of laughing uncontrollably. "I guess I not only missed you, but also you incomparable sense of humor. Thanks I needed a good laugh after my overdramatic afternoon." She let out as her laughter finally receded, even if more chuckles still escaped her throat.

Despite her mocking him so openly, the only thought registering in Sesshoumaru's brain at the moment was_ 'She missed me?' _A pleased smile then appeared on his lips as the prospects of Kagura's unwilling revelation dawned on him. _'Perhaps we will be able to reconcile earlier than I originally thought.' _He thought to himself, very pleased with the situation.

"I still think you should stick to tea, it will comfort you better than alcohol would. I suggest you also call Mrs. Higurashi to ask her to keep Kanna overnight while I go get dressed." He said on his way out to the kitchen.

"What? Why? I can go pick up Kanna. Now that I talked to you, and vented away, I feel much better. I can fetch Kanna then we can go home without any trouble. You don't have to worry or whatever, I'm sure I can handle myself." As appealing as the prospect of spending the night in Sesshoumaru's penthouse was, she knew it would not be wise.

"Kagura, I am not sure you noticed, but the time is rather late." He said his long clawed finger pointing to the time displayed on the clock on his wall. He knew that Kagura had indeed not noticed when he saw her beautiful crimson eyes open wide in shock.

"It's already 11 at night?" She gasped. _'Damn I guess I must have gone wandering after I left the restaurant. I needed air, and wanted to clear up my mind... I was so distraught I didn't even see time pass by. Kanna must be fast asleep by now, and I wouldn't want to disturb her.'_

"I'm sorry Sessh. I hadn't realized how late it was. I guess I was lucky you weren't sleeping yet." She sent him an apologetic look.

"You know I don't usually go to bed early." He reminded her. His words almost brought a red tinge to her cheeks, she remembered that it was only the nights they would make love that he would enjoy going to bed early.

"Yeah that's right. I was just a little out of it earlier, and your apartment was the only place I could think of going where I knew I'd be able to come and think..." She smiled gently at him. The more Kagura basked into his comforting presence and gentle words, the more she realized how much she had truly missed Sesshoumaru. Not only as a boyfriend and lover, or as a father figure for her daughter, but also really as her best friend. Now that she had revealed all of her past secrets to him, she felt like nothing could really stand in the way of them being a trusting, loving couple.

Sesshoumaru had to really fight himself lest he let a silly and very unbecoming grin appear on his lips. The fact that Kagura saw him as the one person she could go to in case of trouble, and that she needed him and knew she could count on him to be there for her, made him rejoice. He was not entirely sure why, but getting positive feedback and words of encouragement from her were a real pleasure to him.

The two of them merely stared at each other in complete silence for a long while, each lost in thoughts about the other. It was finally Kagura who broke the silent tension "Anyways we can discuss that later. Just go get dressed, you're distracting me." She remarked as a joke, but the interested light that suddenly appeared in his golden eyes led her to believe he had taken her words seriously.

"How so?" He breathed out. Suddenly memories of his previous dream came back to his mind, and he wondered if Kagura's lips tasted as sweet as he remembered, or if that too had been his imagination.

"Well you know... you're half naked… It's the mom in me, I worry about you getting a cold or something..." even to her own ears her excuse sounded weak. The truth was that despite her confused state, she could not curb the envy of running her hand down Sesshoumaru's naked chest.

"Since when does this Sesshoumaru trigger your motherly instincts?" He asked an eyebrow raised in mockery.

"Just shut up and go put some fucking clothes on!" She pointed in the direction of the bedroom they used to share, a bright red blush on her cheeks again. "I'll call Hana in the meantime."

"Will you spend the night here?" He asked blandly, masking his excitement at the prospect.

"Yeah yeah whatever." She masked a small smile as she fished her cell phone out of her purse. Even as she dialed, her eyes followed the naked flawless back of the dog demon who went to his bedroom to get dressed as she had suggested.

'_At least he's always able to distract my mind when I need it the most…' _She reflected, glad to have followed her instincts and come to Sesshoumaru's penthouse.

Kagura quickly phoned the Higurashi shrine, and was glad to have someone pick up the phone immediately.

"Higurashi shrine, this is Kagome speaking."

"Hey Kags, it's Kagura. I'm sorry I didn't come pick up Kanna, or even call…"

"Kagura. Are you okay? I've been so worried. Your phone was turned off." Kagome said relief clear in her voice.

"Sorry about that. Something just came up, but don't worry about me. I'll come pick up Kanna tomorrow morning before going to work at the center."

"Where are you right now?" Her human friend asked her.

"Well… I'm actually with Sesshoumaru… in his penthouse." The wind sorceress reluctantly admitted.

"Oh!" Kagome gasped, a full smile appearing on her lips. "Don't worry then, just _enjoy_ yourself. I'll take care of Kanna as long as you want me. Have a _very good_night Kagura." Without letting the wind witch say more, Kagome hung up the phone.

"Crazy girl…" Kagura said with a chuckle as a blush appeared on her cheek. She was sure Kagome was imagining that she and Sesshoumaru were engaging in a certain type of activity.

_'I can't imagine what she would have said had I told her I had spent a half hour talking to a half naked Sesshoumaru.' _The wind sorceress chuckled to herself. She then went over to the master bedroom of the apartment to rejoin said dog demon.

* * *

For the first time in a long time, Sesshoumaru entertained the idea of paying attention to what he was going to wear, but he found the idea so ridiculous that he brushed it off and ended up slipping on his favorite silk pajamas. Of course the fact that Kagura had once remarked that its navy color suited him nicely was just a coincidence.

Just as he was going to join the wind sorceress in his living room, he heard his bedroom phone ring. Surprised to have someone call him so late at night, he quickly picked up.

"Sesshoumaru." He said as soon as he picked up the phone.

"Hey we got a problem." He heard no other than his brother say.

"Inuyasha? What is it?" Knowing that his younger brother was not one to get easily flustered, he suddenly felt worried.

"Jaken has been trying to reach you for hours, but it looks like you ignored his calls as usual. Since he couldn't get a hold of you, I was next on the toad's list."

"What is it he wanted?" Sesshoumaru suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He really did not like spending much time thinking about Jaken and his over dramatics.

"Keh! Turns out that bastard of Kichiro Kanzaki decided to go through with his threat of hurting the Takahashi agency anyway he can." Inuyasha did not even bother hiding his contempt for their late father's collaborator. "He didn't like the fact that we ousted him from the board, so he decided to sell all his shares of the company at a super cheap price…"

"Causing our other share holders and the market to panic thus making the value of our shares plummet. Damn him!" Sesshoumaru roared angrily. As he realized how much of a mess the older demon had caused, he felt worried. He knew that he was losing a great amount of money every second that went by.

"The worst is that he sold them to the husband of that old snake youkai we used to be in business with… Yamashita I think the name is."

Hearing Inuyasha speak the name made Sesshoumaru's eyes turn red in ager, but not only because Kanzaki was messing up his company, but because he had enlisted the aid of people Sesshoumaru hated. Ever since Kagura had told him of her past, and the role Sousuke Yamashita had played in causing her pain, he wanted to get revenge for her on him. However he was afraid she would misread his intentions and get mad at him for trying to help her, just as she had been when he had disposed of Shinichi.

_'However this time I am going to make Yamashita pay for personal reasons.' _He thought a sharp canine being revealed by his cruel grin his mouth changed into.

"Do not worry yourself little brother, I will take care of everything." As soon as he spoke the words, the dog demon felt a pounding in his skull. He almost felt like cursing, a headache was the last thing he needed right now.

"Feh! I ain't worried!" Inuyasha sputtered.

"We will talk tomorrow about how to proceed." The older sibling said thoughtfully. Other then reassuring the other share holders, and making sure that the virtual value of his agency did not go down, the thing that was taking precedence in his mind right now was how to get revenge on Kichiro Kanzaki and Sousuke Yamashita for their attempted sabotage.

"Will you involve _her_?" Inuyasha asked intrigued. He knew that every time his brother had dirty work to do, he involved a certain demoness.

"It is a possibility. Goodnight." Before Inuyasha had the time to comment his surprise over his usually restrained brother wishing him goodnight, Sesshoumaru hung up.

'_I cannot believe the nerve of Kanzaki. I will have to not only clean up the mess he left behind, but also make him pay. No one messes with this Sesshoumaru.' _He thought gently massaging his temple, wishing his migraine to go away.

"Sesshoumaru?" None other than Kagura asked as she tentatively walked inside the bedroom they used to share. "You're looking pale. What's wrong?" She asked worriedly, hurrying to his side.

"Just a migraine…" He trailed off as he suddenly, and contrary to his usual demeanor ungracefully, sat down on his bed, his legs giving under him.

"Sessh!" She leaped towards him. "What's wrong?" She asked again, angered at her lack of words. She had never seen Sesshoumaru look in pain, but could really not mistake the grimace on his face for anything else.

"Are you okay? What can I do?" She asked him, not knowing how to react. What worried her the most, was the sudden lack of response from Sesshoumaru. Instead of answering her, he laid back on the bed and closed his eyes. She took in a shaky breath; he was in as vulnerable a state as she had ever seen him, and that terrified her. The Sesshoumaru she knew and loved was never weak; especially never in front of her.

**To be continued…**

A/N: What is Kagura going to do about Sakura? What will Sesshoumaru do about Kanzaki and Yamashita ? And of course what's in store for our fave couple? Find out more next time in **Lifeline**.


	56. Lifeline

_**Chapter 56: Lifeline**_

A/N: I knew you guys were waiting, so here's your update. I wonder if something will happen between Kagura and Sesshoumaru…

Thanks for leaving me a review:

**Syzhale**

**Little25victor **

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Tigerlover077**

**Hellina-Bertinelli**

**Milareppa**

**Rudhu (x2)**

**Jinxy-sama**

**Rogue reader **(Ah Sesshoumaru's mom? She will make an appearance in a few chapters. There'll be a lemon coming soon too… That's the only hints I can give you.)

Once again thanks to **Dogsfang **for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(And the story will keep on getting more interesting as the plot thickens.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"_Sesshoumaru?" None other than Kagura asked as she tentatively walked inside the bedroom they used to share. "You're looking pale. What's wrong?" She asked worriedly, hurrying to his side._

"_Just a migraine…" He trailed off as he suddenly, and contrary to his usual demeanor ungracefully, sat down on his bed, his legs giving under him. _

_ "Sessh!" She leaped towards him. "What's wrong?" She asked again, angered at her lack of words. She had never seen Sesshoumaru look in pain, but could really not mistake the grimace on his face for anything else._

_ "Are you okay? What can I do?" She asked him, not knowing how to react. What worried her the most, was the sudden lack of response from Sesshoumaru. Instead of answering her, he laid back on the bed and closed his eyes. She took in a shaky breath; he was in as vulnerable a state as she had ever seen him, and that terrified her. The Sesshoumaru she knew and loved was never weak; especially never in front of her._

"Hey what's going on? Talk to me!" A frantic Kagura said as she reached over to the dog demon's side. She kneeled on the bed next to him and gently cradled his cheek in her palm, her body leaning over him. She gently bit her bottom lips as fear spread through her. The grimace of pain on the rapidly paling handsome face of the dog demon frightened her.

"I told you. Just a headache, it will go away in a few minutes." He let out through gritted teeth. _'The last thing I wanted was for Kagura to find out about my condition like this, not to mention that she has had enough on her plate today…' _He was however glad that his migraine had only manifested itself through a headache, not the nasty nausea he sometimes had.

"Just?" She screamed. The grimace of pain that immediately appeared on his face because of her vocal outburst made her feel remorse. She was sure that he was vulnerable to loud noises, even if he would not admit it. "It doesn't look like _just _a fucking headache to me." She added angrily, albeit on a softer tone this time.

"Do not worry yourself. This Sesshoumaru will be fine." He said even as the pounding inside his skull intensified. He had to bite the inside of his mouth not to extend his clawed hand towards the light switch and flick it. The light coming from the two side tables placed on each side of his bed intensified his pain, but being true to himself, and his tough façade, as long as Kagura was in his presence, he would not do a thing about it.

"Do you want me to get you some aspirin or pain killers?" She asked cradling his face in her palm, gently running her thumb over the lowest stripe on his cheek. She remembered how when sick Kanna was always comforted by being gently caressed.

"No." He groaned.

"Don't start spewing your crap about dog demons not needing medicine or whatever." She warned him even as she stood up to go back to the living room, where she had left her purse, which contained a bottle of pain killing pills. She quickly fished it and pulled out the bottle before popping out two small white capsules. She then rushed back to the master bedroom, and jumped on the bed before presenting the pills to his lips, hoping to force them through his lips.

'_No matter how much he tries, he's no match for my determination. I'll force him to take some medicine whether he likes it or not.' _She thought to herself as her hand went towards Sesshoumaru's face. _'I can't let him suffer like this in front of me, and do nothing!'_

"No need." He reiterated at the same time as he reached forward to stop her incoming arm. "You are wasting your time. These would not work on me. In any case, the pain will ease soon."

"Are you sure?" She asked as she reluctantly retreated and placed the unused pills on the dog demon's side table, in case he changed his mind.

However not willing to let him suffer alone, she then gently unmated his bangs from his perspiration slick forehead, revealing the blue crescent adorning his skin.

"Positive." Then as the throbbing intensified, he decided to give in and ask for help, going against his nature. "If you wish to… aid me, make some tea."

"Sessh don't take this the wrong way, but based on the face you're making, you're in pain, and I doubt that tea will be enough to make you feel better. Now those pain killers I was trying to give you might help however. They're strong enough to affect demons, I am living proof of that."

"No pills. Do as I asked instead…. Besides it is an herbal remedy, not a simple tea. The roots and leaves are in the silver tin in the medicine cabinet of our bathroom. Just mixed them and pour hot water over it."

Glad, and proud to have him finally ask for her help, she decided not to pay attention to his use of the pronoun 'our,' and took to her feet and quickly did as asked.

_'I have wondered for a while what was inside that box, not that I would have looked.' _She reflected back to the time she had shared the bedroom and adjoining bathroom with the dog demon.

The wind sorceress quickly moved over to the bathroom and rummaged around, looking for the previously mentioned silver tin.

_'He could have thrown those away.' _She then thought to herself, a smile on her lips, once she noticed that Sesshoumaru had not discarded the make-up and facial creams she had left around his sink. Even though she did not plan to say anything, she was glad he had not. To her it was a sure proof Sesshoumaru had faith in them, and knew she was going to come back.

After letting out a sound of triumph pass her lips once she found the tin, the wind sorceress quickly, and not to disturb Sesshoumaru, silently, moved from the bathroom to the kitchen to boil some water. As effective as usual, she made quick work of mixing a generous amount of the brownish foul smelling leaves and roots inside a cup, then placed a tea kettle on the stove.

While waiting for the water to heat, Kagura anxiously wondered about a way to assist Sesshoumaru as much as she could.

_'Maybe I should bring him some ice or something in the meantime…' _She thought to herself just as she removed her gaze from the heating pot, and reached for the familiar freezer. Not long after the thought had occurred to her, she made a cold compress with a nearby towel.

_'Funny. The last time I had to make one of these, it was for my bruises courtesy of Naraku…'_ Kagura thought to herself as she carried the ice filled towel to Sesshoumaru. Thinking back to the many injuries she suffered at the hands of the spider hanyou made Kagura think back to the revelation Sakura Fujibayashi had made to her a few hours before.

_'Now's not the time to think about what she said. I don't know if it's true or not, so I shouldn't waste any time thinking about it… besides, right now Sessh needs my help more than anything. I've never seen him look so much in pain. I had no idea he had some sort of illness, but if he has these herbs in his possession, then it means his migraines are a recurring thing.'_ Kagura suddenly felt her heart drop in her chest. The thought that the dog demon could be affected by a sickness, or that he could be in pain or die had never occurred to her, and now that it had, she was scared.

_'I've been hanging on to Sesshoumaru for support for a long time. He's been a great help, and a lifeline at one of the darkest times of my life … But now he's the one who needs me, and I will be here.' _She thought to herself, resolve burning inside her. _'Whether he likes it or not, this time he won't be able to get rid of me. He needs to know that the same way that he always saves me, I can save him to. He can hold on to me...I'm strong enough, I won't break.'_ She then and there made a silent vow to bring herself back in the dog demon's life. Seeing him in an incapacitated state, lying in bed, made her realize how precious Sesshoumaru truly was to her. It was unbearable for her to see him in pain, and would do anything to help him feel better.

"How are you feeling?" Kagura asked, not to disturb Sesshoumaru or worsen his headache, she spoke softly to him. Without awaiting an answer from him, she then placed the make shift cold compress over her ex boyfriend's forehead, hoping to relieve and numb some of his pain. She also saw it as a preventive measure in the case he developed a fever.

"This is unnecessary. I told you I only need a cup of the tea, did I not?" He batted away the cold wet towel from his head, and ignored the growl of frustration that escaped Kagura's lips.

"Damn it! You're worse than a kid when you're sick. Fine fine Mr. Grumpy. I got it. I just wanted to help you, but whatever. I'll just go make your damn tea…" She interrupted herself when she heard a whistling sound coming from the kitchen. "I think I hear the kettle, the water must be boiling now, I'll be right back." She once again left his side, not forgetting to take the cold towel with her.

_'Wouldn't want to have His Highness get mad at me.' _The wind sorceress thought to herself as she disappeared behind the bedroom door.

Sesshoumaru did not bother try to follow her with his eyes as she left his side once more. He simply lay back on his bed, closed him amber eyes, and thought about how to exact his vengeance against Kichiro Kanzaki and his new found ally Sousuke Yamashita. Even the sharp pain on the left side of his head was not enough to deter him from thinking of ways to get rid of the older demons.

_'I will make them pay. Ever since father's death I have worked so hard for the agency's sake, and I will not let that damned dog demon ruin everything. And that bastard of Yamashita has to pay for all the pain he caused Kagura.' _He thought massaging his temple. _'First I will put the company back on its feet. I will need to flow a great amount of money into it, which will not be too hard, I will use my savings to do that. Then I will destroy the both of them... How dare they think that they would be able to get away with angering this Sesshoumaru?'_The dog demon thought to himself, his golden eyes taking on a red tinge.

"Careful it's hot." None other than Kagura said as she walked back inside the master bedroom of the penthouse, and placed the tea cup on the night stand. "Do you need help getting up?" She asked, extending her hands towards the dog demon.

His answer to her question, which came in the form of a sharp glare, made her laugh aloud. "I was just teasing you. No need to look so angry…" She did her best to muffle her chuckles.

Gritting his teeth to prevent Kagura from hearing the painful gasp he wanted to let out, Sesshoumaru, with great effort, sat up in bed and picked up the tea Kagura had made for him. He quickly swallowed the foul smelling brew, and wished for it to take effect quickly.

"What is that disgusting, smelling thing anyway?" Her crimson gaze followed his clawed hand drop the delicate china tea cup on his side table with little care for its fragility.

"An herbal remedy. Did this Sesshoumaru not mention it before?" He asked her, relief clear in his voice. He knew that relief for his pain was to come soon now that he had taken Suikotsu's.

"Don't play dumb. You know I really want to know what the deal is with your head." Kagura said, concern in her eyes and voice. "Oh and don't you dare say it's none of my concern, or whatever…"

"I will explain myself… however later. You need rest. We can talk tomorrow morning." He said truly hoping she would drop the subject, or even forget about it altogether the next day. However knowing Kagura's personality, he was aware that things would not go this way.

"Are you trying to evade me or something? Have you forgotten how tenacious I can be when I want something? I did get you to do my nails for me." She tried using humor to get him to open up; truly hoping that reminiscing about their previous strong connection would get him to reveal his secrets to her.

The memory of the time Kagura had lived with him, caused a tiny smile to appear on his lips. "Of course I did not forget. However a lot happened to you today. You have no need to add on to it."

"Don't worry about me. I am the one who should be worrying here. You pretty much collapsed on me. Do you have any idea how fucking freaked out I was… still am?" She asked him. It was then that he noticed the truly worried look in her crimson eyes. It made his heart melt as he was not that used to having people worry and fuss over him.

"Kagura…you have no need to worry." After all the way he saw it, he was the one who had to worry about her, and had to protect her, not the other way around.

"Really? Because the look of pain and strain you still have on your face makes me think differently." She said crossing her arms over her chest in a show of defiance.

He took a minute to figure out what to say before finally giving in. "Fine. I will tell you everything you want to know then." _'It might even help the witch distract her mind from what that Sakura woman said earlier… I also have to investigate her and Naraku, not to mention that I still have to look into finding a tutor to help Kanna develop her powers.' _

He extended his clawed hand towards her, inviting her to join him on the bed, she surprised him when she not only did that, but also laid next to him, snuggling as close to him as possible.

"So is something wrong with you? Do you have a disease or something?" She asked, worried before laying her hand on his chest, next to her head. Feeling his strong heart beat under her palm made her feel reassured. She then and there realized how much she truly had missed being able to lie by his side, or be surrounded by his scent.

"Not a disease exactly… My migraines are due to my mother." He simply let out glad to feel the pressure slowly let out inside his skull, but even happier to have Kagura snuggled against his side.

"What? How is that possible?" She gasped in surprise and incomprehension.

"My parents' stupidity is to blame." He sighed then added before Kagura could press him for more information "My mother is from a poisonous dog demon breed, my father is not." Before going on he started gently running his clawed hand through Kagura's long dark mane. "I have therefore inherited my mother's poisonous abilities. However I am not a full blooded poison youkai and am more vulnerable to the poisonous toxins that run in my veins…"

"You mean you're being poisoned by your own blood!" Kagura asked as she rose up on her elbow to stare down into his eyes.

"It is not so simple. I am not being poisoned per say. There are no long time consequences; the only side effect of my condition is that I get recurring migraines. It is nothing for you to worry about really." He tugged her back down to his side before adding "I have been living with these ever since my childhood. However my father's second wife, Inuyasha's mother, Izayoi, was able to make an herbal tea that was able to take away my head aches instantly. The recipe is lost, but Suikotsu was able to make some sort of substitute; the tea you just made for me. It works well enough. Thanks to it I do not suffer that much anymore."

_'I guess that explains why Sesshoumaru was so confident into Izayoi's remedy Inuyasha made when I got sick during out trip to the beach house….'_ She thought to herself before adding aloud "How come I never noticed about your condition… I mean you didn't have any migraines during the months I spent here with you."

"I do not know how to explain it myself… according to my doctor, stress levels affect my condition. It is one of the only known variables of it." He shrugged.

'_I guess that means Kanna and I kept him stress free…' _She thought to herself, pleased to learn about that information. It was one thing, amid her dreadful evening she could be happy about. _'Then does that mean that if I we were to move back in with him he wouldn't have to suffer from those migraines?...' _She wondered to herself. _'Not that it would be the only reason I'd like to get back with Sesshoumaru… I mean I missed him, but being able to help out with his migraines would definitely be a plus.'_

"Then you should be okay since I am here, right?" She smiled when she felt him nod against her. "Well I'm glad to see you are feeling better for now."

"Kagura. I am fine. Do not worry really. The migraines are strong, but never last."

"By the way are they the only thing… hum… symptom of your blood condition? The headaches I mean." She asked him. The wind sorceress did not know why, but she could not shake the feeling that he was not being entirely truthful with her. She truly felt he was hiding something from her, and she really could not see why

"Yes. This is why I tell you not to worry." He easily lied. _'There is no need to tell her he entire implications of my condition. She would worry too much for no reason…' _He thought to himself even as he knew inside that an appointment with Suikotsu would be needed soon.

"Let us go to sleep for now. You can ask me more questions tomorrow morning." Without waiting for her to answer, the dog demon reached over to the light switch on his right and turned off the light in the room. He almost let out a sigh of relief as darkness surrounded them. Since he did not want Kagura to worry about him too much, he had not told her about the sensitivity to light that accompanied his migraines, instead he decided to suffer in silence rather than turn the lights off as he wanted.

Kagura freed herself from the hold Sesshoumaru had on her to reach under them for the covers. After placing them over their bodies, she took her place back again, beside him, in his arms.

"I'm glad I came here tonight. I may hate crying, but it's nice to know I have a shoulder to cry on, literally." She said tracing her hand over his shoulder, where her head lied. "Not to mention that playing the nurse to someone as reluctant as you proved to be a nice distraction. It was just what I needed."

"It is always a pleasure to be a source of enjoyment for you." He scoffed. He relished having her warm body in his bed, by his side, where in his opinion she belonged, and would suffer her continuous teasing if it meant he got to hold her. Without thinking about it, he pressed a soft kiss to Kagura's forehead. It was a thing he used to do all the time when they still lived together, and was a good night gesture.

"Goodnight Sessh." She responded to his earlier kiss by reaching up to press a peck on his unsuspecting lips. Without even knowing how, what she had first meant to be a brush of the lips turned into a passionate lip lock. As their tongue met, they both let out a mix between a sigh and a moan; the two of them had waited so long to kiss again. Soon, before she had even noticed it, Kagura found herself laying over Sesshoumaru, kissing him deeply.

He was not sure what had suddenly come over her, or why she was abruptly kissing him with such intensity and passion, but he was not one to complain. _'I will enjoy it as long as it lasts.' _He thought as he eagerly returned her kiss, letting his hands roam over her body appreciatively. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and let the two of them get lost in their kiss, but did not want to scare her off.

Kagura started laughing against his lips when she felt Sesshoumaru's hand trail from her head, down her back, causing pleasurable shivers to run down her spine.

_'I want so much to get lost into this, and sleep with Sesshoumaru tonight, but I don't know if it would be wise.'_ Even as she thought it, she reached for his hair with her hand, and frowned when she felt the perspiration drying on his forehead, side effect of his previous migraine. _'And anyways I think he's probably not up to that, so it'd be better to wait…'_

"Hum I may be acting as your nurse, but I won't be giving you the happy ending you gave me when you took care of me at the beach house." She chuckled against his lips, even if she did not resist when he kissed her once again.

"Okay. Enough. I wouldn't want your head to explode or something. Besides you need your rest." She took the time to press a lingering last kiss to his lips before rolling off his body to resume her place at his side.

'_I hope he doesn't think I don't want him… I don't think he would since it_ _sounds silly to hesitate now considering that we have slept together several times before.'_ She then paused in her reflection as something occurred to her._ 'Then again we were intimate before he found out about my past, and what I used to do while working for Naraku.' _She thought to herself, letting a sigh escape her lips.

The dog demon had to restrain his need for the woman so close, yet so far from him. As much as Sesshoumaru wanted to go beyond a few exchanged kisses, he knew better. He was aware that things moving on too quickly would not bode well for their relationship in the long term.

_'This Sesshoumaru merely has to be patient. There is no need to get angered, Kagura will come around and be back in my life and bed soon enough.' _This time around he had a harder time taking comfort in these words. According to his plan, Kagura would have been back by his side a long time ago, and in addition the problems Kanzaki and Yamashita were causing him were not helping his jumbled mind.

Based on the hungry look still present in Kagura's crimson eyes, he knew that she wanted him, but could not see why she had decided to stop. He knew that he would easily be able to get her to make love with him, if he pressed her some, but knew it would not be in their best interest in the long run. _'Kagura having regrets is not something to look forward to, not to mention that she is psychologically weak right now due to her familial situation.' _

Fear of his headache coming back prevented him from grinding his teeth in anger. He could not forgive anyone setting out to hurt Kagura._ 'And anyways a sure way to release some of the tension I feel will be to crush the two annoying pests Kichiro and Sousuke.' _He thought to himself, once again using his legendary self-control to reign in the bubbling anger inside him.

"I see. In this case have sweet dreams. Goodnight." He said pressing a kiss to the wind sorceress's lips, comfortably settled on the bed next to him. Just as he closed his eyes, he tightened his hold on the woman snuggled in his arms.

_'You better be alright Sesshoumaru Takahashi. I hope nothing happens to you; especially not before I get a chance to make things right between us, like I should have a long time ago.' _This was Kagura's last thought as she closed her eyes, and let sleep take her.

Even as he felt Kagura's breaths even out, and he knew that she had fallen asleep, the dog demon knew he would still be awake for a long time; a side effect of his migraines was for him to develop insomnia.

_'Holding her, and being close to her will have to be enough tonight…' _Sesshoumaru thought as he let a sigh escape his lips. He did then do his best not to move too much in bed for fear of waking up his beautiful visitor.

* * *

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" These were the words Sesshoumaru woke up to the next morning. The dog demon sat up in his bed and stared at Kagura who was brushing her hair with a brush she had forgotten behind in her haste to leave him weeks ago.

"I am fine. Why are you up so early?" He asked when his golden eyes noticed the time displayed on the clock on his side table.

"I have to go pick up Kanna from the Higurashi shrine before going to work, then to class. Despite the whole drama about Sakura, I still have an exam to take. You know the one you helped me study for yesterday… wow was it only yesterday?" She smiled at him before heading towards the living room to retrieve her things. Sesshoumaru quickly bolted out of bed, and followed her. He was glad to see that he indeed was doing quite well, and was not suffering from any headache.

"Well I'll call you about rescheduling our outing to the swimming pool, I know Kanna and Rin are looking forward to it." A smile then appeared on her lips at the idea of implementing the plan she had just come up with to improve things between her and the dog demon. "In the meantime I'd like to drop by your office to bring you a little thank you gift this week." She was glad she managed not to give away her true motive by displaying a grin on her face.

"Oh?" He merely said masking his interest in the matter.

"I think I'll drop by on Wednesday around one in the afternoon. Do you still take your lunch break around that time?" She asked him. Thinking back about his schedule was bittersweet. On the one hand she happily remembered the times they would spend together on his lunch break while she still worked at the Takahashi agency, but on the other hand, she could not erase from her mind the image of Sesshoumaru with another woman that she had seen in Kanna's mirror weeks ago.

"Yes." He repressed a smile at the idea that she still remembered his schedule perfectly.

"Good. Then await a little surprise from me on Wednesday." She smiled before walking towards him. "I guess I'll see you then."

"Kagura… be safe." He almost cursed himself when he really could not find anything else to say. He was really surprised to see how Kagura had apparently shrugged off the meltdown she had had the previous night. _'She is such a strong woman, a reason why I love her so much.'_

"Don't worry about me Sessh, just like you, I'll be just fine. Now then I'd better go now. Bye I'll see you later." She took the time to press a sweet peck on his lips before leaving.

After Kagura left his penthouse, Sesshoumaru forced is mind to focus back on the problem Kichiro Kanzaki and Sousuke Yamashita had created for his agency.

_'I believe it is time to pay a visit to Touran.' _He thought to himself as he went towards his bedroom to get ready for the day.

**To be continued…**

A/N: In the next chapter we will see who the mysterious Touran is, and what she means to Sesshoumaru. The chappie will be named **Assistance**. Sorry my dear readers, but there will be no update next week. Although the next chapter will be a transitional one, the one after will be worth your wait. Let's just you'll love me after reading it ;)


	57. Assistance

_**Chapter 57: Assistance**_

A/N: Hello it's been a long time, no? Here's your long awaited update.

Thanks for leaving me a review:

**Syzhale**

**Little25victor **

**Sesshkagufan13** **(Congrats on leaving the 700****th**** review wow!)**

**Rudhu **

**FallenAngelsFeelNoLove**

**Rogue reader **(Touran might surprise you in this story. I know Kagura's surprise will please you though it will be next time. Sesshy's secrets may be for a reason… we'll see.)

Once again thanks to **Dogsfang **for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(Less cuteness in this chapter, but new characters will be introduced.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

It was unusual for Sesshoumaru to take some time off during the week; especially on a Monday morning. This explained his secretary's shock when he called to cancel his planed meetings.

_'I however do not have a choice. I need to take care of the problem now. Inuyasha and Miroku can look after the company in my stead for now.' _He thought to himself as he stepped out of his car.

After dropping by his bank and a quick meeting with his lawyer, the inu youkai went for a meeting much more important. It was one thing to come up with a legal and financial strategy with his trusted collaborators to help his agency get out of the financial problems caused by Kichiro Kanzaki and Sousuke Yamashita, but another to get revenge by his own hands.

_'She better be able to get the information I am looking for…'_ He thought as he walked towards the meeting place.

Sesshoumaru walked into the Black Sheep bar with confidence in his step. He was a man with a purpose and nothing could deter him from it. Not even the curious looks people from the street were giving him. After all it was quite unusual to see an elegantly dressed man walk into a bar so early in the morning. Little did they know that he was not a jaded alcoholic businessman out to have a drink early in the morning, but was out to meet with a very special person.

It took the dog demon less than a minute to notice the beautiful blue haired, pale skinned woman seated on a stool at the bar. He walked towards her silently, and did his best to ignore the teasing glimpse of her soft skin her short lavender dress provided thanks to her being seated sideways.

"Touran." He spoke, trying to get her attention as he stood next to her.

"My Sesshoumaru-sama it has been too long." The panther demoness turned around to face the dog demon, and rearranged her cross legged to purposely have her dress hitch up higher. She then sent him a seductive smile, revealing a hint of her sharp fangs. She knew they were meeting for business purposes, but truly hoped they would end up engaging in much more.

"This Sesshoumaru has no time for your antics today Touran, I have work for you." He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and sat next to the young demoness. It had been years since she had been able to seduce him easily, and now that he had Kagura, the panther demoness had no chance of making him stray.

"Ugh! You are not even tempted to see if some of our past chemistry is still present?" She questioned just as she appreciatively ran a hand down his arm. She was not put off when Sesshoumaru slapped her palm away.

"I am not interested." He said with a sharp glare, indicating his loss of patience.

"Hum what has gotten into you? By now the Sesshoumaru I know and adore would have invited me back to his penthouse for a morning in bed. Business _and_ pleasure… was it not always our motto?" Touran asked. She was frankly surprised by Sesshoumaru's coldness. Not to say that she did not know the dog demon had a frosty nature, but he was usually more receptive to her sexual advances.

"I am in a relationship, a _committed_ one." He explained.

"What? You? I don't know if I should laugh or cry! Anyways I'll drink to that!" The panther demoness chuckled before reaching for the glass in front of her.

"Work first." Sesshoumaru halted her movement. He was not annoyed by Touran's clear amusement and surprise since he knew they were warranted. Throughout the years he had known Touran, the two of them had had an on and off sexual relationship, and he had never been in a serious relationship during the entire time.

_'I may not be proud of that part of my past, but I know I have evolved from that point. Now that I have Kagura, things will never be as they once were.' _The dog demon thought to himself.

"You refuse me, and insist we work first? Wow! You have become so domestic! Soon you'll tell me you're about to be get married, or better yet are to be a father." She scoffed as she pushed Sesshoumaru's hand away, and took a hold of her drink and downed it quickly, not even flinching as the alcohol burned its way down her throat.

"What exactly is it you need me for anyways?" She asked the dog demon. Even though she would have loved to flirt with Sesshoumaru longer, she knew that they were meeting for business reasons, and when it comes to work, she was always serious.

"I require your talents as researcher." His statement made Touran snicker.

"Who's the poor bastard who pissed you off?" Her question brought a smile to Sesshoumaru's lips in return. _'She had always understood me so nicely.' _He thought to himself before answering.

"An old collaborator of my father, his name is Kichiro Kanzaki. Let us just say he has underestimated this Sesshoumaru. He decided to ally himself with someone else who has wronged me: Sousuke Yamashita." Only thinking back to the two demons was enough to enrage him.

"Hum if that Kichiro Kanzaki was working with your father, something tells me he must be pretty decent…" The panther demoness said. It had been Sesshoumaru's father, the late Takahashi who had introduced the two younger demons. He was close to Touran's family, and had helped them out on several occasions, and to this day Touran still admired him for his generosity. She even tended to put him on a pedestal, to Sesshoumaru's annoyance.

"I still want you to probe around. I also want you to find me information on a couple other people. Naraku Onigumo and Sakura Fujibayashi. See if you can find a link between the two." He was not surprised to see that Touran was not taking notes, she was not only a beautiful woman, but had a sharp mind.

"Got it boss. Well since we are clearly not going to reunite for some good clean fun, I should be able to start working on the assignment by this afternoon. I trust you'll have the first half my money ready by then?" Touran's pale eyes rolled sideways to observe Sesshoumaru.

"Do not doubt this Sesshoumaru. Everything will be ready by then, as usual. If you get me some interesting information by tomorrow, I will even throw in a bonus." Without having the time to say more, even if he would not have bothered, the dog demon reached for his cell phone, which was vibrating in his pocket.

"What do you want?" Sesshoumaru sighed in the device.

"Feh! Is that any way to greet your dear brother?" Inuyasha teased his older sibling.

"If you have something to tell me, do so now, or I will hang up." He simply answered, doing his best to ignore the snicker which appeared on Touran's face. Inuyasha had always been a great source of amusement to her.

"I got a report from Jaken, things are looking better when it comes to the agency's stocks. Looks like the cash you put in was effective."

"Good to see things are going as this Sesshoumaru planned." The dog demon allowed a rare smile to appear on his lips. "I am meeting with Touran and will be in the office in an hour."

"Keh! You weren't kidding when you said you were out for blood. Let me know if I can be of any help; I sure as hell would like to get revenge on that bastard of Kanzaki myself." Inuyasha grumbled to himself. He was also familiar with the panther demoness, and knew of her reputation and qualities.

"Is that all?"

"Yeah I think so…" Inuyasha gently scratched his ear as he answered his brother. However the sudden appearance of his fiancée and secretary Kagome distracted him from thinking about saying more.

"Goodbye then." Sesshoumaru suddenly closed his phone, not minding if his brother had more to say or not.

"I can see you're as courteous as ever my dear Sesshoumaru; especially when it comes to your brother." Touran smiled at the dog demon. She stood up from the red stool she was seated on then leaned towards him to press a kiss to his cheek over his stripes.

"I guess I'd better leave now if I want to start working on the little project you gave me. Talk to you soon Sesshy dear…"

"Touran." He interrupted her. "How is your family." Sesshoumaru felt compelled to ask about her family members, and make sure they were okay. They used to be under his father's protection; and now felt as if they were under his.

"Karan and Shunran are almost done with college, and father is getting better; the new institution I placed him in may be costly, but it is very effective. Thanks for asking." She smiled brightly at him, glad to see he had not forgotten the reasons why she had decided to start working as an informant for the rich and powerful. The young woman would do anything for her dear siblings and sick father, even working on the wrong side of the law in exchange of a big paycheck. The only thing she refused to do was dig information on the few people she knew and cared about, like the Takahashi family.

"Oh well it's a pity our encounter is to stop here for today. I can only hope you remind your girlfriend often of how much of a lucky girl she is; other women would love to have you." Touran gave the dog demon one last wink before leaving his side.

Sesshoumaru could not prevent his golden eyes from briefly straying to Touran's swaying backside as she walked away.

_'I am sure Kagura appreciates our relationship… if we can even call it that.' _Sesshoumaru thought to himself as he left the Black Sheep bar hurriedly. He could not prevent his mind from straying and wondering what Kagura was doing at the time, and if she was fine after her troubling encounter the previous night.

_'I have no time to be wondering about this. I will see her on Wednesday, and until then, I will have to silently worry about her.'_ He sadly thought even as he knew it would not be possible for him to call Kagura in the meantime, no matter how much he wanted to.

* * *

"Kagura!" The cry of her name said in a deep manly voice unnerved the wind sorceress. Her upset had more to do with the fact that said voice had called her name several times that morning, and each time was not for pleasant reasons.

"You mixed the pamphlets again. What's wrong with you? You've never been the clumsy type, so why are you making all these dumb mistakes?" Bankotsu asked his employee as he looked over the work Kagura had done a few minutes before.

"Oh honey don't be too hard on her. She's been stressing out lately 'cose she has a big exam coming in her class this afternoon. Cut her some slack, will you?" None other than Jakotsu pointed out to his boyfriend as he walked inside the classroom where Bankotsu and Kagura were.

"Am I wrong?" The flamboyant young human asked. He then walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall to give a quick check to his carefully applied makeup.

"Yeah…" Kagura murmured. The real reason behind her unease was really the revelations Sakura Fujibayashi had made to her the previous night. The wind sorceress might have pretended to be okay for Sesshoumaru's benefit, but this was far away from the truth. In reality she was scared. However she was not sure what frightened her the most; the idea that Naraku had found her, and was using Sakura to get to her, or the possibility that the mysterious void demoness might be telling the truth.

_'As much as I try to shut it out, I can't help but think about all the things pointing towards the fact that she is telling the truth. I mean Sessh is right, she might be the reason why Kanna has void demon blood… plus she knew about my birthmark, and her son does look like my daughter.' _Kagura then halted her thoughts as something occurred to her. _'That kid she came at the shrine to pray for… Hakudoushi or something... then if it's true that Sakura is my mother, then he's my brother… and I think she mentioned having another son. IF I were to believe her words, then that means I have two brothers'_ She then and there forced herself to push away from her mind the image of the tearful, screaming Sakura she left behind when she fled.

_'This woman deserves none of my sympathy. IF she is telling the truth than she is a monster. She must have known the type of man Naraku is, and why would she even leave me with him?... In any case there's no need to get riled up about a bunch of lies. Not when I have Sesshoumaru to worry about.'_

A thing other than her familial situation that was not helping Kagura settle her mind was her worry over Sesshoumaru. Ever since the previous night, she could not put out of her mind the image of him lying on a bed, suffering. On the one hand she had greatly enjoyed spending her evening sleeping nestled in Sesshoumaru's comforting arms. One thing she had never expected when she had gone to the penthouse to take refuge was to see Sesshoumaru's health become a big concern of hers.

_'I'm so afraid that something happens to him.'_ She thought to herself. Her concern over him was making her question their relationship, or rather lack of, more. _'I miss him so much… and Kanna does too.' _The pouting face of her daughter when she had gone to pick her up that morning came back to her mind. The toddler was actually quite saddened that her mother had not taken her to see Sesshoumaru.

_'It's all Kagome's fault. She just had to run her mouth and tell Kanna that I spent the night over at Sesshoumaru's place.'_ The wind sorceress sighed even as she resumed working on sorting out the informational pamphlets for the different classes offered at the center.

"Yeah well try not to make any more mistakes. 'Kay? I've got to run, I start a class in a few minutes." Bankotsu said on a stern tone even if an understanding smile was displayed on his lips. He then left, but only after making sure to place a loving kiss on his boyfriend's lips. To Jakotsu's feign annoyance, he had to pretend being mad since after all he had just retouched his makeup.

"Ah to be in love… " Jakotsu sighed happily. "I am as happy as I can be, but what about you? How's your love life these days?"

"I so don't want to go there; especially not with you." The wind sorceress retorted, a frown on her face.

_'My love life is a jumble...'_ She thought sadly. She was jealous of the happy expression she saw all the time on Jakotsu or even Kagome's face._ 'Truth is that I want to get back with Sesshoumaru. I miss him. I miss us. I am tired of letting my past rule my future. The next time I see Sessh, I will do everything to get back with him… if he still wants to.'_ The wind sorceress then thought back about the promise she had made to herself when she was encased in Sesshoumaru's embrace. She had then decided that she was going to get back with him, even if she had to seduce him.

_'Even if he decides I'm not good enough after learning about my past… I'll have to show him that I'm still the same person.' _The fact that it did not seem to be a problem for him when it came to making out with her had not even really registered with her.

_'The next time I see him, things will definitely take a different turn.' _She pushed her reflection away, and her sour thoughtful face was replaced by a bright smile when she saw Bankotsu walk back in holding Kanna in his arms.

"She's been asking for her mom since she woke up from her nap." The human had enough experience with young children to hold the toddler in a confident manner, a stark difference from Sesshoumaru's usual, and sometimes clumsy way of carrying the little girl.

"Aw what is it Kanna-chan? Come to mommy baby." The wind sorceress opened her arms to receive her beloved child. As soon as her employer placed her daughter in her welcoming arms, Kagura pressed a kiss to the small soft downy head.

"Mommy, when are we going to see Sesshoumaru again?" Kanna asked on a saddened voice. The glint present in her mother's eyes since that morning pleased her. She knew it was the same one she always got after meeting with the dog demon.

"Actually I think you're going to be glad that we are seeing Sesshoumaru in two days."

"Really?" Kanna looked into her mother's crimson eyes, a huge smile on her lips.

"Yes. We'll see him on Wednesday." Even if Kagura still felt nervous about a possible reconciliation with Sesshoumaru, she could not prevent a smile on her lips from appearing.

"Kanna can't wait!" She happily chirped. For her daughter's sake, Kagura decided to push her worries aside, and focus on a good thing; seeing Sesshoumaru again.

_'Now the only question is what I am going to make for his lunch… oh and what I'm going to wear.'_ She thought glad to have found a distraction from her messy life.

* * *

Several miles away, a certain demon was on his way to an important appointment.

Sousuke Yamashita was not a stupid demon, he knew that if provoked Sesshoumaru would retaliate, and was expecting the dog demon to try to do something to him soon.

As he walked out of the elevator car leading him to his meeting, he could not help but reflect on the brilliant idea he had had.

_'That pup of Sesshoumaru will be angered after what Kichiro and I did, indeed he won't like that I am owner of shares of his company. However I have a plan of my own. Enlisting _his_ help is therefore necessary.'_ The serpent demon thought to himself.

A smile appeared on his lips as the scent of alcohol and decadence reached his nose; smells he always associated with the ever opened bar. It was a place where Sousuke had known some of his best times.

Sousuke knew why Naraku Onigumo, the man he had come to meet, had decided to make the bar of the Yuki tower his base of operation. The place was opened 24/7, the drinks were of good quality, and the place was always full of potential clients; men, who like Sousuke Yamashita were always looking for new sexual thrills, the kinds that their wives could never give them, and that often times were illegal.

'_Not to mention that's the bar is such a quiet place. I know for a fact that you can drag a woman away with force, and nobody will do anything…' _He thought to himself, remembering how one of Naraku's reluctant employees had been difficult, and he had had to discipline her, with Naraku's permission of course.

As he walked forward, his eyes then spotted the dark mane of the hanyou he had come to meet, his mind could not help bust stray again. Sousuke thought about how Naraku, with his red eyes and dark hair reminded him of his daughter Kagura. This brought him to think about how at the gala Kagura had refused him, and how Sesshoumaru had defended and protected her.

'_I will make them pay, and to do that, I will use that idiotic spider to get what I want.' _

"Ah Sousuke such a pleasure to see you again. Are you looking for some fun this fine afternoon?" Naraku asked the serpent demon as he sat across from him.

As much as it pained him to do so, Sousuke shook his head. "No. I am here for business."

"Oh?" Naraku masked his surprise. He knew Sousuke as a faithful client, who always paid handsomely, even if he was often times too hard on his girls. It was not uncommon for one of his girls to have to take a trip to the hospital after servicing the vicious snake demon.

"How would you like to get back at your daughter's boyfriend, the so annoying Sesshoumaru?" Naraku's eyes lit up at the tempting words Sousuke spoke to him.

"Tell me more." The spider hanyou said a smile appearing on his lips.

**To be continued…**

A/N: An alliance between Naraku, Kichiro and Sousuke? We'll see how things are going to go down. The next chapter will reveal what Kagura and Kanna have planned for Sesshoumaru. And what Kagura's decision is really about. The chapter will be named **Lunch break**. I'm so sorry, but there might not be any updates next week. Although do remember that good things come to those who wait. I promise you won't be disappointed next time :)


	58. Lunch break

_**Chapter 58: Lunch break**_

A/N: The long awaited chapter I've been tantalizing you guys with is here… and will be in two parts, so sorry !

Thanks for leaving me a review:

**Syzhale**

**sesshkagufan13**

**Roguereader **(Don't worry too much. The few coming chapters will be all sweet; however, there certainly will be some drama coming soon ku ku ku)

**Kagura's number one fan **(I'll see if I can abide o your deman soon... don't get your hopes up though lol)

**Rudhu  
little25victor **

Once again thanks to **Dogsfang **for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(Kagura will soon do more than attempt a reconciliation. And the villains? We'll see about their plan.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

Naraku Onigumo was a hanyou who had built an empire on vices found in both humans and demons alike; lust, greed and love of violence were just a few of them. But what few people knew was that the reasoning behind his actions had not only to do with him wanting money, but rather with his interest in hurting people, and seeing them suffer; things that ever since his youth the half spider demon had enjoyed.

After his very informative meeting with his usual customer Sousuke Yamashita, Naraku's two inclinations were now battling inside him.

_'What to do? If I ally with Yamashita and his friend, I could be getting revenge on that bastard of Sesshoumaru, and how he humiliated me. I could also hurt Kagura at the same time. However if I were to use the information they both stupidly provided me, I could get so much money out of Kagura's boytoy. He would pay great money to know what Yamashita and Kanzaki are planning to do' _The hanyou thought before taking a sip of his expensive brandy.

_'Money… or revenge… The possibilities are endless._' Naraku grinned to himself. Just as he reflected on the two possibilities presented to him, a certain image appeared in the hanyou's mind. He could see the Shikon jewel, a pinkish round piece of jewelry he had tried to acquire for years, but with no success. He had not gained enough money to buy it, and the security around the museum where it was stored was too secured for even Naraku and his well trained minions to breach.

His blood red eyes glowed as Naraku thought about holding the famous jewel in his pale clawed hand.

"Guess I know which way I am going to go."He said more to himself than to his newest employee seated next to him. The young woman was gently caressing his thigh, not daring to breathe a word out; even though she had just started working for him, she knew all too well of Naraku's vicious temper, and the pain and bruises he could leave behind when displeased.

"Fetch my phone." He barked at the young woman.

"Yes." She said frightened, just as she stood from the table where they were seated. The young woman yelped when Naraku took a hold of her thin arm, burying his claws in her skin. Despite the pain she did not dare voice her discomfort as she knew how it excited him to hear the women he hurt cry out.

"You have forgotten something it seems... do remember to not disrespect me." The hanyou hissed, dugging deeper in his poor victim's skin, ignoring the blood coming out of the wound he had inflicted.

"Forgive me _master_. I will not disrespect you anymore." She bowed, reigning in the tears of pain she was on the verge of letting out.

"Good. Do hurry I have an important phone call to make." Naraku finally let the poor girl go, and focused back on finishing the bottle of brandy he had started. He smiled as his thought about how he would be sure to punish his latest employee if she did not do his bidding too quickly.

* * *

Sesshoumaru looked down at the slowly moving hands on his wrist watch for what to him seemed to be the thousandth time. He was impatiently waiting for one o'clock to struck, for he knew Kagura would then drop by his office. It was sure to be a nice distraction for his mind considering that Touran had yet to get back to him when it came to any interesting findings about Naraku Onigumo, Sakura Fujibayashi, Sousuke Yamashita and Kichiro Kanzaki.

He was startled when he heard his desk phone ring, but wasted no time answering; it could be Kagura after all.

"Yes?"

"Sesshoumaru? Is that anyway to answer your phone? I thought I had raised you to be a more polite boy." An overly, and fakely, sweet voice said.

"Mother." He was proud of himself for not letting the sudden wave of annoyance that came over him show in his voice. "Why are you calling?"

"Hum dear Sesshoumaru you are still quite lacking in your manners, no matter... I am calling to announce to you that Günter and I have unfortunately broken up." She said in a phony saddened voice.

"What a pity…" He said in a monotone voice. Sesshoumaru was not dumb, and knew she had only been dating the German baron for his money.

"Yes indeed. I am sure you know what it means…" She let him interpret the meaning of her words, which he did. Now that she was without the financial backing of her foreign boyfriend, she would need for her son to help finance her lavish lifestyle more than ever.

After her divorce from Sesshoumaru's late father, she had quickly run through the money she had received as a settlement. During the few years she had had full custody of Sesshoumaru, she also had used the money of child support given to him by her former husband to keep the high social status she enjoyed while being married. When Sesshoumaru had been removed from her care, she had lost her major source of income, in the form of the child support payments, so then turned to finding rich males like the baron to get money.

From the corner of his eye Sesshoumaru noticed the silver head of his secretary pop through the door, a smile formed on his lips at having a ready excuse being handed to him so easily.

"Mother I have to go. Unlike some people I know, this Sesshoumaru works." He did not try to hide his contempt for his mother's way of financing her life. _'She is so unlike Kagura, who would rather work for her own keep. Not to mention her guilt and shame when it comes to her past occupation.' _He thought sadly to himself.

"But of course, I will let you be for now dear. Be sure to send me my little monthly gift as soon as possible. I do not know if you are aware, but the Paris Fashion Week is to start in only a few days, and I am dying to go there, and do some shopping." The older demoness quickly hung up, as talking to her son longer than necessary was not something she looked forward to. The reason of her call was simple. Due to her break up she only wanted him to send to her an even more generous monthly check than she was used to, and nothing more.

"What is it?" Sesshoumaru addressed the inu youkai who had just stepped into his office.

"A certain Kagura is here to see you." The all too knowing smile on his employee's lips was still not enough to put down Sesshoumaru's suddenly lifted mood at seeing that Kagura had finally arrived.

"Show her in." He simply said.

* * *

_'Kanna is going to be so mad when she wakes up.' _Kagura thought to herself. She was waiting for the elevator to go up to the floor where Sesshoumaru worked. The wind sorceress and her daughter had taken great pains to cook one of the dog demon's favorite dishes, meat lasagna, and the excitement had, Kagura was sure, taken its toll on Kanna, who as soon as they arrived at the Takahashi agency fallen asleep in her arms.

_'Hopefully she won't be that angry…' _The wind sorceress thought of her daughter who was peacefully sleeping in the nursery of the agency among the children she used to play with when her mother still worked there.

Before she realized it, Kagura found herself in front of the desk occupied by Sesshoumaru's secretary, the same desk she used to occupy not too long ago. However the person seated at the desk surprised her.

_'It's her! The woman I saw Sesshoumaru having lunch with through Kanna's mirror!' _Her heart suddenly clenched at the remembrance of seeing the man she loved with another; especially in the restaurant where she and Sesshoumaru had enjoyed several intimate lunches.

"How can I help you?" The extremely beautiful inu youkai stood up from behind the desk to approach Kagura, her amber eyes, so similar to Sesshoumaru's lightened.

"I have an appointment with Sesshoumaru at one. I came to bring him lunch." Kagura answered. She raised the large basket she had brought along to show the silver haired demoness across from her.

"But of course… let me see if he is available…" After sending Kagura a dazzling smile, the young woman walked over to Sesshoumaru's office to announce Kagura's arrival, seductively swaying her hips as she walked. She then quickly went back to the wind sorceress's side.

"He'll be here in a second. He was just on the phone. Say… do you need help carrying your bags?" The young dog demoness said at the same time as she reached for Kagura's hand. To the latter's surprise, the newest addition to the Takahashi agency took hold of her palm, and gently caressed it. Despite Kagura's uncomfortable smile, and gentle tugging on her appendage, the young secretary pretended not to notice, and kept on softly running her thumb over Kagura's soft tanned skin.

The wind sorceress entertained the idea of lashing out at the other demoness, but refrained herself as the last thing she wanted at the time was for Sesshoumaru to walk in on her beating the hell out of his employee.

"Kiriko that will be enough." Sesshoumaru growled as he walked over to the two women. He had rushed after his secretary as he knew her enough by now to guess she would bother Kagura if she was left to herself. "Besides Kagura is a _mother_." He emphasized the last word, hoping to make Kiriko back up. She had a policy not to get involved with women with children as little ones had a tendency to repulse her.

"Well I could make an exception for her. I mean she looks delicious…" The young dog demoness smiled brightly. Her answer made Sesshoumaru send her a sharp glare; a staunch warning not to even think about lying a finger on the wind sorceress.

"Okay, okay, I got it. I give up. You didn't tell me you had dibs on her. I'll just go to my desk and reorganize your appointment book." Kiriko smiled to her employer, and blew a kiss to Kagura before doing as she had said.

Glad to be rid of his secretary, Sesshoumaru brought his attention back to the woman who had come to visit him.

"You didn't bring Kanna?" He asked, feeling disappointed at the idea of not seeing the infant.

"I did, but she fell asleep on the way here, so I decided to put her to bed in one of the cribs in the nursery, you don't mind, do you?" Kagura asked the dog demon even as her crimson eyes sent a confused look to the young female secretary.

"No not at all. It was a wise decision. She should wake up in give or take forty five minutes anyways." He said after quickly glancing down at his watch. Even after all this time, he still remembered that the little girl's naps usually lasted around an hour.

"I don't intend to take that long out of your time…" The pleased young mother trailed off, even if it was not the complete truth. If her plan was successful, the two of them would be spending _a lot_ of time together from that point on.

"Do not worry about it. Let's go into my office, we will be more comfortable." He gently took Kagura by the arm and led her towards his office, doing his best to ignore the leering look on Kiriko's face as her amber eyes trailed down to look at Kagura's backside. It took all of Sesshoumaru's self control not to growl in a show of annoyance at his secretary.

Having Kagura back into his office made Sesshoumaru's heart feel lighter; it gave him the impression that the two of them had reunited for good. He could not help but think about the last time the two of them had been in this same room; the day Kagura had walked away from him. He then shook his head free of his negative thoughts, and forced himself to focus on something else, like for example the tantalizing wind sorceress who was back where he wanted her.

_'I can now understand why Izayoi used to force us to bring lunch to father at the office at least once a week. I used to hate these family 'outings,' as much as Inuyasha did, but now I can see the appeal._' Sesshoumaru reflected on the happy feelings inside him. He then went on to seat not behind his massive desk, but on the leather couch facing a small table in order not to make Kagura feel uncomfortable. She followed him, glad he had thought about making her comfortable.

The dog demon took a few seconds to take a close look at the woman seated next to him. The last time they had seen each other, due to her distraught state courtesy of her recent encounter with Sakura, and then his migraine, he had forgotten to check on the wind sorceress.

"Have you been following Suikotsu's recommendations? I have made some research on anemia, and it is not a condition to overlook." He pointed out. The dog demon was however glad to see that the bags under Kagura's eyes were gone. She looked rested, and her lightly tanned skin was not as pale as it had seemed to him as of late.

"Yes. You have no need to worry. I've been taking remarkably good care of myself." Even if she controlled her urge to roll her eyes in annoyance, she still added with a snort "Thank you so much for asking."

The dog demon left the ghost of a smile appear on his lips at her words. He could easily tell that she was annoyed with him.

'_Kagura has never liked it when I inquire about her health. I can still remember how she prevented me from treating the injury her father inflicted to her ribs when we first met.' _Thinking about how Naraku used to abuse Kagura angered the dog demon, and made him clench his fist.

The Kagura he knew did not like having people fussing over her, and would rather take care of others. He was indeed right, as to Kagura, her own health was not a source of worry; however, the image of Sesshoumaru writhing in pain while lying in his bed was forever stuck in her mind.

"How about you? Sesshoumaru, how are _you_ feeling?... I mean how is your head? Any migraines? And don't you dare try to elude me." The worry clear in her crimson eyes warmed his heart, yet annoyed him at the same time.

"I told you before not to worry about me. Besides I saw my doctor, had a few tests done, and everything is alright." He figured that lying to buy her peace of mind was not a bad deal. He had meant to take an appointment with Suikotsu, but had yet to find the time.

"Really, I feel so reassured. Okay then, I'll let it go for now." She relented, aware of how annoyed she too had become when he had asked her about her anemia. Not to mention that knowing he had gone to the hospital had also greatly reassured her.

"Now that we can put away our health issues, are you ready for your lunch? Kanna and I put in a lot of effort, so you better be ready to eat plenty." She told him just as she fished inside her large basket to fetch the canteen containing the meal she had prepared. To her surprise Sesshoumaru's clawed hand not only stopped her, but also took the basket from her hand and placed it on the carpeted floor next to him, on the side of the couch where they were seated, well away from Kagura's reach.

"It can wait... I feel we have to talk." He turned back on his side to face her.

"Oh? And about what?" She asked surprised. _'He may want to talk about our relationship and where we stand right now. It is understandable after all, I too feel like we should define what we are doing.'_ Her resolve to reconcile with Sesshoumaru burned stronger than ever in her chest.

"Have you thought about contacting Sakura Fujibayashi?" He bluntly asked her. Kagura did not bother masking the surprise she was feeling. Her possible link to the void demoness was the last thing on her mind at the moment. The reason why she had decided to drop by Sesshoumaru's office that day was to offer the two of them a chance to talk and get back together, and talking about her recent discovery on her family history did not fit in her scenario.

"Not really..." She altered the truth. Had she been honest, she would have admitted that she had thought about the revelations of the older void demoness a lot, and had thought about contacting her just as many times, but each time brushed the idea aside.

"I don't think it'd be a good idea, and anyways Sesshy, if you don't mind, I don't really want to think about that. I'd rather focus on happy thoughts, like for example this…" She paused, a smiled on her lips, to fish into her large purse for two pieces of paper stapled together. She then placed it in front of Sesshoumaru, on the small table standing in front of them.

Sesshoumaru took the time to reflect on what she had said, and decided to do as asked. He knew better than anyone how having difficult family members could affect someone, his mother's earlier phone call came to his mind, and felt that if Kagura wasn't ready to find out about her past, he was not going to push her. _'At least not for now...' _He thought to himself. Besides since she had agreed to leave off the, to him, annoying topic of his health issues, he felt he could concede and not speak of her familial ties with Sakura Fujibayashi.

"What is it?" He wondered aloud just as his golden eyes scanned the paper now in his hands. Kagura did not answer him since she knew he would quickly figure out what she had given him, which he indeed did. It was none other than the Western history exam she had taken, a brightly written 'A' in red adorned the first page.

"Excellent job, I am proud of you." He smiled at the beaming Kagura.

"Well it's all thanks to you. Imagine my surprise when I saw that your ridiculous technique was actually successful… It seems that I actually need you to bring the best out of me." Her off handed compliment caused a genuine smile to appear on his lips.

"You are an exceptional woman, who does not need anyone to bring the best out of her. As you have proved several times over, you are also strong and independent. All qualities this Sesshoumaru admires. I am glad to have been able to help you out though." His blatant praise of her brought not only a smile to her lips, but a red tinge to her cheeks as well. Hearing his words of comfort only made her love him even more.

_'He's right I have proved that I am strong, independent and smart, to both him and myself. There is no need to keep on fighting. I want Sesshoumaru back, and he needs me.' _The image of him in pain while lying on his bed was still etched in her memory, and saddened, worried, and made her ache, all at the same time.

The two of them stared at each other in silence before Kagura decided to intervene. She took a deep breath before speaking. "Sessh. What are we doing?"

"Come again." He raised an eyebrow in surprise and confusion.

"I feel like we're stuck in limbo when it comes to our relationship. I mean what are we right now?" As much as she knew the risk of testing him when it came to his feelings for her, she felt that she needed to know. _'Before I confess to him how much I love him, I need to know how he truly feels about me.'_

He took a quick second to think about what he was going to say. Something told him that a lot for their common future was resting on this one innocent looking question.

_'I should play it safe, and not try to pressure her into getting back together.' _He thought to himself.

"Why are you trying to make things more complicated than they are? We are two friends who enjoy spending time together, that is all." He said with a shrug of his shoulder. The too casual tone of his voice made Kagura's previous excitement plummet.

"That is _all_?" She repeated sounding dejected and not even bothering to hide it.

_'Damn it! Of course she would misunderstand my words.' _He thought to himself. _'Enough! I am tired of this dancing around. Kagura and I need to stop playing these games that we play. I have lost patience.'_ He thought to himself, a resolute light shinning in his eyes. He angled his body even more to the left, and faced her.

"Kagura, I _love_ you." He said simply, looking down in her deep crimson eyes. The way she took in a shaky breath indicated to him that she may not believe him. The idea of it pained him more than he would ever admit. His words had forced her to take a deep breath in shock, and had caused her pulse to quicken.

"I have never said these words to a woman before, and I am sure you believe me when I say that… Besides I do not know if I will actually speak them to another woman. After all as you know I am not a very… emotive person." He then paused unsure on how to go from there. He had had to forcefully pry the words out of him in order to get the woman he wanted, and only hoped it would be enough.

"I'm such an idiot, am I not?" She scoffed sadly, tears springing to her eyes. "After I left you, I only hoped we'd be able to go back to how we used to, but I don't think that's even possible now.'

It was his turn to be shocked by her revelation. Taping into his usual cold display, he forced his handsome face not to reflect the pain suddenly tearing at his chest. The dog demon had finally decided to open up his heart to Kagura, and the fear of being rejected scared him more than he could have ever thought.

"Kagura…" He started.

"Wait let me finish, it's not every day a woman gets a confession from the man she loves. Well expect to be surprised by how corny I can sound…" She let out a small chuckle.

"What I was really going to say is that I think we could be _better_ than before. I love you too Sessh, and finally saying it really feels like a relief. I've wanted to tell you for so long… and now that you know everything about my past, everything that I have so desperately wanted to hide from you, I can't believe that you'd still be able to want me, to love me… but I'm not going to question it." She let out a sound resembling a mix between a sob and a chuckle.

"I'll just enjoy it." She then took the time to wipe away some of her tears before speaking again. "I am not afraid anymore. I can be independent from you now... I really only need you for emotional support... so I really feel like there's nothing that could stand in the way of us being together… that is if you still want me." Instead of giving her a verbal answer, he cradled her face in his hands and bent down to take her lips in a searing kiss.

As their lips melted together, Sesshoumaru and Kagura finally knew what true happiness meant. It didn't matter to them that her salty tears were getting mixed into their kiss, or that they were seating inside his office. The only thing they cared about was that despite all that had happened between them, and all that had stood in the way of their love, they had found each other again.

**To be continued…**

A/N: I know I know, how dare I cut the chapter just when things get good? Naraku has something planned, and Kagura and Sesshoumaru are reuniting? We'll see how things turn out next week in the second half of the chapter which will simply be named **Lunch break part 2**. (Yes awfully original lol.) See you guys next week!


	59. Lunch break part 2

_**Chapter 59: Lunch break (part2)**_

A/N: Not much to say except that to Sesshoumaru's extreme delight, there will be a major **LEMON WARNING** for the first part of the chapter. It's a very long one, so don't say you weren't warned…

Thanks for leaving me a review:

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25Victor**

**Rudhu**

**FallenAngelsFeelNoLove**

**TigerLover077**

**DeathAngel69**

**Soojinyeh**

**Roguereader **(That wasn't such a horrid cliffy besides the next update was pretty fast)

Once again thanks to **Dogsfang **for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(Kagura will soon do more than attempt a reconciliation. And the villains? We'll see about their plan.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

_As their lips melted together, Sesshoumaru and Kagura finally knew what true happiness meant. It didn't matter to them that her salty tears were getting mixed into their kiss, or that they were seating inside his office. The only thing they cared about was that despite all that had happened between them, and all that had stood in the way of their love, they had found each other again. _

The dog demon let his hand trail down her shoulders, gently caressing her skin. He fingered the shoulder straps of her purple dress, remembering how they had passionately made love on the balcony of his beach house the last time he had seen her wear the garment. Thinking about it made him want to take Kagura again. He groaned in pleasure in the back of his throat at the prospect, but did not break their kiss.

As much as he tried to curb his want, he lost his battle once he heard Kagura moan gently against his lips. Contrary to his usual reserved and composed nature, Sesshoumaru moved his lips from hers and trailed kisses down the side of her neck.

Kagura had been intimate with Sesshoumaru enough times to recognize when he was feeling excited and lustful, and the gentle growl that escaped his throat as he placed a sharp kiss against the soft skin of her neck was evidence enough.

"Sesshoumaru. What are we doing?... And here of all places." She said just before he crashed his lips against hers again. Despite her words of mild protest, she did not push him away, nor did she bat away his hands from caressing her body.

_'Oh no, the witch is not going anywhere. Now that she has finally admitted being in love with me, I am not letting her get away from me.' _He thought as his tongue thoroughly explored the wind sorceress's mouth. A growing desire for the woman in his arms made him hesitate between covering her body with his on the couch, and fulfilling a long existing fantasy of his…

"Wind witch" He said affectively. "You do realize this is not new for us. We've been together so many times that I already know everything about your body." To emphasize his point he appreciatively ran his hands down her curves before gently nipping her neck, a ministration he knew she enjoyed immensely. He almost smiled when she proved how right he was by letting out a loud moan.

_'He's right…. Why was I hesitating again?' _Even as she thought the words, she had the annoying feeling that she was forgetting something important._ 'Whatever. It's been too long, and I've missed being with Sesshoumaru so much.' _She thought to herself just as she returned his caresses, making one happy dog demon.

Glad to have managed to reassure her, Sesshoumaru gently pushed Kagura back, and laid his body over hers. Just then, there was a loud knock on his door. The idea of being interrupted at such a crucial moment annoyed the demon couple.

"What?" He roared angrily, not even bothering to sit back up. Contrary to his demeanor, he was letting his annoyance show. This was actually not surprising considering the high level of frustration he felt at the moment.

"Sorry to interrupt Mr. Takahashi, but you have a meeting scheduled at 2. I just wanted to remind you before you became involved in something…" None other than Kiriko said. Based on the muffled noises her sharp dog demoness hearing had picked up coming from her boss's office she knew what she had interrupted, but also knew it was for an important reason.

"Reschedule. And do not disturb us anymore." He simply said before looking back down in Kagura's crimson eyes. The amusement he saw in them amused him in return, and before he knew it he had a stupid grin plastered on is face.

"Ugh you have a busy schedule boss, and you should focus more on work…" his secretary added.

Sesshoumaru did his best not to outwardly show his annoyance at her words.

"Sessh. You shouldn't neglect your work because of me." The wind sorceress scolded him on a mocking tone. She then reached a hand to gently caress his stripped cheek before shamelessly saying aloud "We're in the middle of an … important discussion on a publicity campaign. Just give us twenty minutes or so…"

"Only? What a disappointment…" Kiriko sighed from the other side of the large wooden door. She knew she could get away with teasing her boss without negative consequences befalling her because despite her lecherous ways, her work was flawless, and Sesshoumaru appreciated that quality.

Her words brought a red tinge of anger, not embarrassment to the dog demon's pale cheeks, and caused a growl to escape his lips. After glaring at Kagura sharply, he raised is head to speak again, but the wind sorceress beat him to it.

"I meant give us a solid hour." She said aloud before whispering in his pointy ears, and giving the appendage a little nip. "It's been a while after all." Kagura did her best not to laugh aloud at the sour expression she could clearly decipher on Sesshoumaru's face. It had not been her intention to insult his manliness and stamina, which she knew to be great, nor to embarrass him in front of his employee.

"Got it boss… I'm going on my lunch break, and leave you two alone, so don't worry about making noise. Have fun." Kiriko called over before quickly leaving. She was sure that if she went too far, and her boss had had enough of her teasing he would make her regret it; he was the descendent of Taiyoukais after all. She therefore decided to find an excuse and run away as fast as possible.

The dog demon took a second to use his sharp hearing to make sure that his secretary was indeed gone before getting back to what he had been trying to do; making love to the woman he loved.

"Now that we will not be interrupted, let us get back to what we were doing before Kiriko interrupted us." Sesshoumaru said just before his lips crashed against the wind witch's.

"This has to come off." He whispered, his hands gently tugging at the purple material of her dress, which hid her adored curves from his appreciative gaze and touch. Trying to get a more comfortable position, which would also enable him to divest his beloved of her clothing easily, he wiggled over her, pushing his body against hers, and forcing her to let out a gasp of pain as his strong form and hard muscles collided with her supple body.

"My apologies. Are you alright?" He asked. At seeing the worried and forlorn look in his eyes, she could not help but smile brightly.

"I am youkai too, you know, and that didn't hurt." She lied. Even as she knew the point of contact would leave a bruise on the skin of her thigh, she decided not to worry Sesshoumaru, or to put in jeopardy their lovemaking. She then reached for him and tugged at his shirt, trying to bring him back towards her inviting lips.

"Wait. This isn't working…" An exasperated sigh escaped his lips before he stood up from the small couch. Considering the range of things he wanted to do to his little witch, he knew the small leather piece of furniture would not be adequate. A smile appeared on his lips when an idea occurred to him.

Without speaking a word to the flushed woman still lying on his couch, he turned and faced his desk, an amused glint in his amber eyes. His next action caused Kagura to stand up from her lying position, and let out a gasp of delighted surprise. Without hesitating, with a large motion of his arm, Sesshoumaru had swiped away the contents of his desk. He then turned around to face her, and masking his excitement, took her hand in his.

"What did you just do?" She asked stunned, her crimson eyes resting on the contents of his desk now adorning his carpet. Due to her working as his secretary, she knew firsthand how Sesshoumaru's desk was always littered with important documents; the type that should not be discarded carelessly like he had just done.

"Permit this Sesshoumaru to indulge in a fantasy of mine." He cracked a tiny smile at remembering the many times, when she still worked for him, he had wanted to bend Kagura over his desk and take her.

"Wow! I never would have guessed you had such an impulsive side to you." The smile that appeared next on her red lips was muffled by a sound kiss Sesshoumaru placed on her mouth. Had she been honest, she would have confessed that seeing the ever cool and composed Sesshoumaru give into his demonic and animalistic instincts just for her pleased her to no end, and aroused her too.

Kagura answered eagerly to the assault he had launched against her lips, and moaned gently when his tongue slid past her lips, and entangled with hers. Their sweet kiss went on, even as she felt him gently stir her towards his massive desk. When they finally broke apart for some much needed air, the wind sorceress was slightly surprised to find herself perched on Sesshoumaru's desk, with him standing between her thighs.

_'Damn he's good. I was so caught up in our kiss I didn't even realize he had lifted me.' _She thought with amazement before extending her lips towards his, asking for another kiss even as rocked her center against him, causing the dog demon to shudder.

To her surprise, he evaded her lips and placed a clawed finger over them. He did not explain his actions to the confused wind witch, and only pushed her further down his desk.

He then quickly and eagerly rounded the piece of furniture before settling himself on the chair placed behind his desk. When his intentions dawned on her, she could not prevent a shiver of excitement and anticipation to go through her body. She did not protest when he hitched up her dress, letting it pool around her waist, nor when he divested her of her underwear. Eager to get back with his sorceress, he wasted no time, and bent his head forward, paying attention to keep his hair out of the way.

"Sesshoumaru." She gently moaned when he took his first taste of her in a long time. He knew he could have taken her before preparing her, but he intended to give her as much pleasure as possible; reminding her of what she had missed out on when she had decided to take a break from their relationship.

The dog demon secured her thighs apart with his large clawed hands, and with his tongue launched a merciless assault on the small pearl nestled at the top of her womanhood. He gently chuckled when he heard Kagura moan, and felt her thighs close over his head, it gave him an indication that he still remembered how exactly to please her.

Aiming to speed up the process as he was eager for a release of his own, he reluctantly let go of the hold he had on her soft right thigh to delve two fingers into her moist heat, gently massaging her. He worked her simultaneously with his fingers and tongues until they were both satisfied. Her hips writhed in pleasure, and she let soft moans escape her lips when she climaxed. Mindful of his claws, he gently removed his fingers from her womanhood, and sat back in his chair. The delightful image of the pleasure filled Kagura sprawled on his desk pleased him to no end.

"How was it?" He asked, even if he did know the answer, gently licking her honey from his fingers.

"It was perfect. I missed that. I missed you so much my love." She said breathlessly as he let her come down from the pleasure high he had thrust her into. After taking a few more seconds of deep breathing to compose herself, Kagura sat up on the desk.

"It's my turn now." She smiled wickedly, her eyes going down to stare at the noticeable bulge in his pants. The way she seductively ran her tongue along her lower lip let him know _exactly_ what she had in mind.

"No, not now. This Sesshoumaru has no patience for this." Admitting a weakness annoyed him, but he was telling the truth. "Let us just move on to the next step." He wasted no time, and removed his shirt, revealing his broad naked torso to her adoring eyes. She shuddered in pleasure at the sight of his silky skin presented to her, and realized that she truly had not only missed Sesshoumaru's presence as a friend and confident as she had admitted to herself before, but also as a lover.

Noticing the hunger flaring in her crimson eyes at the sight of his bared skin, Sesshoumaru felt a sense of pleasure and power; he could tell Kagura wanted to run her hands all over him, the same thing he wanted to do to her.

_'No need to make either of us wait then.' _He thought even as he started undressing further.

As she saw Sesshoumaru unfasten his pants, revealing his painfully hard member, Kagura suddenly remembered a reason why she _should_ be hesitating to sleep with him at the moment.

"Wait a sec'." She said a feeling of panic suddenly rising inside her. Sesshoumaru halted in his undressing, and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Is something wrong?" He asked carefully. _'Is she hesitating because of what I have found out about her past, when she used to work for Naraku? She should know it does not matter to me…. Should I say something? Should I reassure her in my feelings for her?' _He wondered unsure about the best course of action. He feared that speaking the wrong words could have an undesirable effect on his wind witch.

"No, I…" She trailed off not knowing how to explain her sudden thought.

Her former 'employer' Naraku, had always made sure the girls working for him had birth control, he knew one of them getting pregnant was not desirable in his line of business. Then when Kagura had worked at the Takahashi agency she had used the health insurance to take care of it. However ever since she had left the dog demon's side, she had stopped taking birth control pills. At first because she did not have the money to buy them, but then after she started working, she did not take them because she had no use for them. Not to mention that she had lacked the time to go to the doctor's office to get a new prescription.

"If you want, we can wait." He said fumbling to tuck his length back in and close his designer pants. _'It seems I will need to convince Kagura more when it comes to our relationship.' _He thought to himself, doing his best to keep in a sigh of disappointment.

The look of pure desire she could still see in his golden eyes, despite his words of comfort tore at her heart. She wanted nothing more than to truly reunite with the demon she loved, but feared the consequences.

_ 'Then again we should be fine today.' _She thought as she counted back in her head_. 'I'm a god damned demoness, and I know my cycle pretty well. There's no need to worry. Besides tomorrow I'll go to the doctor's to get a birth control prescription.' _She thought to herself suddenly reassured.

"No don't worry about it. Actually I'm great. Where were we again?" She asked sending him a reassuring and seductive smile. He smiled back at her, relieved.

"You were about to ride me." He stated, opening his arms to welcome her. His bluntness caused a laugh to escape her throat, but she did as asked. After sliding off his desk, Kagura carefully positioned herself over his lap and slowly slid herself on him just as she placed a welcomed kiss to his lips. The two demons let out a groan of pure pleasure once he was fully sheathed inside her.

The dog demon reached his large hands down to seize her hips, and help her move faster and deeper upon him. Sesshoumaru Takahashi then knew what true pleasure was. He had spent the past weeks trying to remember how making love to Kagura was a formidable thing, but now that he actually got to do it, he realized his various dreams and fantasies paled in comparison to the real thing.

He pushed the straps of her purple dress down her arms to allow him to lower the collar of her dress. The action caused her breasts to spill forward, and he eagerly suckled a tender mound, making her pleasure grow. Kagura shivered in delight, and eagerly bounced faster on his lap, feeling him reach deeper inside her.

_'Hopefully there's no one looking out their office window right now… Then again we're pretty high, and the buildings are far apart, so it should be fine…' _She thought to herself when she noticed that in their haste, Sesshoumaru and she had left the blinds of the large window behind them opened. Her train of thought was lost when Sesshoumaru taking note of her sudden mild distraction raised his hip off his chair to give a particularly deep thrust inside the woman he loved.

Kagura arched her back as she felt her pleasure grow steadily, and could tell she was close to her second release. She smiled to herself when she felt Sesshoumaru's breath quicken, a sure sign he too was getting lost. She then moaned and increased her speed, hoping to make Sesshoumaru reach bliss at the same time she did. To her surprise, just as she raised her head to bestow a kiss on Sesshoumaru's lips, she felt her body lurch forward, and it was not due to the youkai under her.

Only a fraction of a second later, the two demons found themselves crumbled on the ground after the office chair they were sharing toppled backwards. During her short leap in the air, Kagura's head came in hard contact with the cold glass of the window, from which she had been looking at a short while before.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, reaching down to inspect the place where her head had banged against the glass of his window. The dog demon hurriedly ran his clawed hand through her disheveled black bun, messing it up even more. He let out a satisfied sigh when he did not feel any bump.

When it came to Kagura, she simply dissolved in laughter. "That had to be the least graceful flight ever taken by a wind sorceress." He gave her a brief bitter smile, glad to see she found their predicament amusing.

"Come here." She instructed when she noticed that the expression on Sesshoumaru's face was more sour than amused. However he wasted no time complying, happy to see she did not mind that the rest of their big _reunion_ would happen on the floor behind his desk; a far cry from a romantic encounter, and a sharp difference from the ways his little fantasy of having Kagura in his office used to play out in his mind.

'_This Sesshoumaru had never considered the logistics that were involved in such things. Next time we will stick to our bed at home… or maybe the bathtub.' _He thought to himself happily remembering the first time he had made love to Kagura.

"Don't worry Sessh, I don't think we can fall lower than that." She chuckled as she raised the hem of her dress past her waist, uncovering herself for him. The wind sorceress smiled when he settled back in between her thighs. She fastened her legs around his waist right after he buried himself inside her, and did not protest when he moved gently over her; she had now gotten used to his slower pace when it came to making love to her.

_'And anyways he has never failed to pleasure me.' _She thought as she reattached their lips, letting him swallow her loud moan, just as she felt him thrust deeply into her.

Their mutual excitement was such that it did not take Sesshoumaru long to feel Kagura climax. After being with her so many times in the past, he still remembered how her opening her eyes wide, or burying her long nails in the soft skin of his back were signs of her reaching bliss. Not able to wait much longer, he followed her, and emptied his seed deeply inside her willing body.

"I don't know how I went on this long without this." He heard the woman under him breathe out. Sesshoumaru wanted to agree, but could not summon the strength to speak yet. He therefore only lowered his head to press a kiss to her lips, and did his best to regain his strength quickly.

Afraid of crushing her smaller frame like he had done earlier when they were lying on his couch, the inu youkai rolled off of Kagura. The two demons lay on their backs next to each other, breathing deeply, their bodies still humming in pleasure.

The dog demon may have lost track of time while engrossed in pleasing his lover, but was sure they still had enough time for at least a second round. Thinking back to all the past nights he had had to spend alone and frustrated with only dreams of the wind sorceress to keep him company was enough to reawaken his desire for her. Her sharp eyes noticed easily his growing length, and instead of saying anything, Kagura only smiled at him, and extended her hand in invitation.

_'I think I love my wind witch even more now.' _He thought to himself just as he took her hand and tugged her towards him, helping her climb back over him.

* * *

Sakura Fujibayashi was seating at home, savoring a rich cup of expensive imported Italian coffee. Her crimson eyes trailed around her living room, which was a clear representation of the great wealth she now possessed.

She suddenly stood up and moved over to the mantel of the fireplace where pictures of her two sons were displayed next to the one she had taken with her husband for their twenty years wedding anniversary not too long ago.

_'What wouldn't I give to have a picture of them here too.' _She felt her heart clench, and tears spring to her eyes as she thought to the two things missing from her life. She however quickly cleared the salty liquid from her eyes when she heard the door of her sanctuary open.

"Hi mom!" A young man said a smile on his lips, and his long dark ponytail swinging behind him with each movement he made.

"My Byakuya, what a surprise!" She said enthusiastically, quickly wiping away her tears as she turned around to greet her oldest son. After giving him a firm hug she stared up into the crimson eyes that were so similar to hers, and smiled.

"Come on, you asked me to drop by as soon as I could, so don't act all surprised now." The young man chuckled just as he settled into one of the soft armchairs before reaching down for the coffee table to serve himself from the plate of cookies placed next to his mother's cup of coffee.

The older void demoness frowned at her son's lack of manners as she saw him wolf down the sweet treats, letting crumbs fall on her exquisite Persian carpet, a gift her husband had given her during one of their many travels abroad.

"Don't start nagging please, I'm starving. It is lunch time after all, and I took time off of work to come see you." He smiled up at his mother. Instead of reprimanding him, she simply sat across from her son, and served him a cup of coffee, which he quickly gulped down as well.

"So, care to let me know what was so important for you to tell me that I had to come all the way to the house? I mean you could've talked over the phone or emailed…" He casually pointed out before swinging his long legs over the side of the armchair he was seating on, unnerving his mother, who just noticed his muddy boots. To the young demon's surprise, she however had yet to scold him for dirtying her precious expensive furniture.

Little did he know how far from her furniture Sakura's mind was at the moment. The void demoness had agonized over telling her sons about one of her biggest secrets, and had decided to let only Byakuya, the elder one, know for now. After all she wanted Hakudoushi to focus only on his studies for at the moment.

"It is something I have wanted to tell you for years now. Please do not interrupt me until I am done as it is hard enough to tell. It is not a pretty story, and after discussing with your father, we came to the conclusion that you would be better off knowing. I will tell Hakudoushi as well, but at a later time. In the meantime please stay quiet on the subject." She took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves.

Seeing his usually cold and collected mother nervous worried Byakuya Fujibayashi to no end. "Mom. You're really scaring me, what's up?" The young demon asked worriedly. He sat up right and looked at his mother expectantly.

"Byakuya. I have to talk to you about your sister…"

Not heeding her request no to be interrupted, he quickly cut her. "My _sister_? What the fuck are you talking about?"

His mother ignored his colorful language, and answered him "Her name is Kagura, and she is two years older than you."

* * *

"I probably will never be able to work behind this desk without thinking about what we just did." Sesshoumaru informed Kagura just as he looped his arms against her small form, and placed a kiss on her forehead, right over her sweat mated bangs. The fact that she could only give a weak chuckle at his words filled him with manly pride. Making Kagura shut up, even for just a minute, was always an accomplishment for him.

The two demons were settled against the wall of his office, their limbs entangled as they lay on the floor. The dog demon idly wondered if he was supposed to say something. Comfort Kagura in his feelings for her, swear his undying love, or some other ridiculous emotional nonsense that had nothing to do with his usual self.

_'That would actually be quite useless; the witch now realizes my feelings for her, and the two of us can be together now. As it should be.' _He thought to himself as he felt Kagura's fingers deliciously run up his arm in a gentle caress.

"Hum I'm surprised we refrained from doing that during the time I worked here. What were we thinking? We really did miss out on such great fun." She said, crimson eyes closed in pleasure, even as she burrowed her face against his warm chest before reaching up to place a kiss at the crook of his neck.

"You were a serious employee, who did not want to go against company policy." He gently teased her, reminding her of the rule against in-office dating.

"Oh yeah whatever happened to this rule?" She asked as she finally opened her bright eyes, to his pleasure.

"It is no more." He said with a shrug as he let his hand gently travel down her shoulder, marveling in the softness of her slightly tanned skin.

"You repelled it?" She asked, interested.

"It was one of the first things I did when I gave the company a much needed makeover. It was an obsolete rule anyways."

"I'm sure your new secretary Kiriko was glad…" She said more bitterly than she had intended. Kagura had received a weird vibe out of the newest addition of the Takahashi agency, not to mention that despite Sesshoumaru's confession of his love for her, she could not forget the image of the two of them sharing a meal together she had seen through her daughter's mirror.

"Are you jealous?" He asked her, pleasantly surprised.

"Of course not!" She scoffed.

"You have no need to worry, Kiriko is not interested in me; she is a lesbian, and in any case, my eyes are on you only." His words made Kagura smile, and blush prettily.

"Good… you do belong to me after all." She said smugly.

"Just as long as you belong to me." He growled possessively.

Thinking of belonging made the dog demon think back on the fact that his employee had taken advantage of Kagura's ignorance about her sexual preferences to caress the wind witch's hand; it annoyed him to no end, and forced him to thin of a very unpleasant task to assign to the young dog demoness.

"Well that Kiriko seems like a nice enough girl…" Kagura snickered when she felt Sesshoumaru scoff. "I'm sure things must have become much more interesting around here since she got here."

"That is for sure. The ongoing competition between her and Miroku over the female staff of the company has almost prompted me to bring back the ban on in-office dating." He informed her as he reluctantly let go of her, and donned his shirt, which he had carelessly thrown away earlier.

Seeing that he was getting dressed, Kagura let out a sigh. She knew that their loving interlude had to end at some point, but she wanted to keep going. Her opinion however changed when she looked down at her watch and noticed the advanced time.

Following Sesshoumaru's example, Kagura quickly righted her dress, before cleaning herself and putting her underwear back on. She rearranged her bun as best as she could, and gave herself a quick once over through the window's reflection. Once she was satisfied with her appearance she turned to face her lover. It pissed her off to see that as usual Sesshoumaru had regained his composure much more faster than she had. He not only had managed to dress back up quickly, but also had managed not to get his clothes as wrinkly as her dress had.

_'It still amazes me that someone as messy as him can manage to always look so flawless.' _She wondered, just as she ran a hand through the sides of her dress, trying to get rid of some of the wrinkles on the purple material.

Realizing there wasn't much she could do to improve her appearance, she gave up, and instead focused back on their conversation.

"That idiot must be glad Sango isn't working here anymore…" The distasteful scowl that appeased on Sesshoumaru's face was answer enough to her suggestion. "If she ever catches Miroku, Sango will unleash Kirara on him; that ought to keep him in line. Maybe I should suggest the idea?" Kagura's chuckle was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"What is it now?" The dog demon refrained himself from sighing.

"There's a young Kanna here to see you. Hopefully you're done making her a younger sibling lest she learns about the birds and the bees too early." Kiriko snorted from the other side of the massive door. The young woman was in a bad mood because she not only had once again just been turned down by the delightful and pretty young rabbit demoness who worked in the HR department, she had asked on a date, but was now bringing Kanna over to her mother at Ruri's request.

_'Why can't I ever say no to a pretty girl?' _Kiriko reflected on how despite her hatred of children, the manager of the nursery at the Takahashi agency had managed to have her do her biding so easily.

"Bring her in… and take the afternoon off." The words were barely out of Sesshoumaru's mouth, that his young secretary perked up and let a cry of joy before sprinting out of the office; forgetting about the pretty eyed rabbit demoness, she hoped she'd be able to plan a hot date for the girl she had met the day before when she had gone out to have a drink with some friends.

Sesshoumaru could not explain why, but his secretary's joking remark kept going through his head. _'There's no way Kagura could become pregnant right now, she's on the pill.… There's no need dwelling over such a ludicrous idea. We are not ready to have more children, and it wouldn't be safe with the likes of Naraku and Yamashita still bent on making her life miserable. Not to mention that a baby would make things way too complicated between us.' _He thought to himself, even as an image of a silver haired and crimson eyed baby flashed through his mind, making his heart flutter.

He did not get to think on it more as Kanna came running on her short legs and fastened herself to his leg. He caressed her head, and smiled down at her before turning to Kagura who smiled at him as well.

"Kanna missed you so much Sesshoumaru!" She squealed happily. "Did you miss me too?"

"Of course." He assured the little girl even as his eyes were trained on Kagura. He then picked up Kanna and cradled her in his arms.

Sesshoumaru was happy to have his family back. He had waited long to be reunited with the two demoness he loved the most, but felt his heartache had been a small price to pay for the happiness he felt now… Little did he know that in just a few weeks time, they would be separated once again…

**To be continued…**

A/N: That was long. I hope you enjoyed this lemon on the more funny side than usual. Sesshy and Kagura reunited… for good? Knowing me you know you shouldn't assume they're sailing to happily ever after land lol. Don't be freaked out by the last sentence; it will all be explained soon… The next chapter will be named **Swim day **it will feature some much needed family time… oh and Rin too :)


	60. Swim day

_**Chapter 60: Swim day**_

A/N: I hope you're ready for some nice relaxing, sort of drama-free family time! Thanks to my amazing reviewers:

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25Victor**

**Rudhu**

**DeathAngel69**

**AWingedWolf**

**Roguereader **(Ah ha the window isn't far from his desk. Sesshy likes the impression of him floating on air it gives to the people seating across from him. Kagura pregnant? Don't know about that!)

Once again thanks to **Dogsfang **for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(I'm glad you liked the secretary; she amuses me a lot. Don't worry about the separation yet...)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"So I've thought about the whole thing, and decided to go with Shinto… I mean I don't want Ji-chan to be disappointed in me… Hum Kagura, are you listening?" Kagome asked, a little note of annoyance in her voice. It was the third time she had had to call her friend's attention back on her. The two of them were sitting together on a park bench, watching over Kanna and Shippou as they enthusiastically played together in the nearby sandbox.

"I'm sorry what were you saying?" Kagura turned her crimson eyes to look at her friend. Despite her best efforts to pay attention to Kagome, her mind could not help but stray; especially to what Sesshoumaru and she had done in his office a week ago.

"Well I have decided to go with a traditional wedding ceremony."

"Sounds good to me… what does Inuyasha think about it? His opinion should matter since he is the groom after all…" The wind sorceress asked her friend

"At the risk of sounding annoyed, this is the third time you asked me this question! What's wrong with you Kagura? You're not listening to me, it's like you are in another world…" The young human remarked, surprised by her friend's unusual behavior. "Now when it comes to Inuyasha, well ever since he suggested having instant ramen and garlic flavor potato chips on the menu of the wedding banquet, let's just say I decided to overlook any suggestion he could make."

Her revelation made Kagura dissolve in laughter. She did feel bad for not paying more attention to her friend, but was glad to see that as usual Kagome was too nice to actually be mad.

"Mommy! How come we're not going to the pool too? I want to go!" Shippou suddenly rushed over to Kagome and rested his red head on her lap.

"What are you talking about?" His father's fiancée asked even as she ran her fingers through his hair in a tender gesture.

"Uncle Sesshoumaru is taking Kanna to the pool later today. I want to go too!" The young fox kit whine unhappily.

"I'm sorry Shippou-chan, but you know we have to meet Inuyasha before going shopping." When Kagome's words were received by a groan, she quickly added "We'll be sure to buy you lots of pocky, how does that sound?"

"Yay! At least I get pocky." Shippou started dancing around. His enthusiasm did not phase Kanna in any ways. Today was the day she had been waiting for a long while now; she would finally get to see Sesshoumaru and her mother back together. Her young mind may not have grasped what had happened between the two adults, but the way Sesshoumaru had kissed and hugged Kagura after they left his office, or the fact that he had made sure to talk on the phone to both Kagura and Kanna on a daily basis for the past week made the little girl sure that her two 'parents' had reconciled for good.

"Mommy maybe we should leave now, or we will be late." Kanna told her mother, her deep dark eyes shining in glee.

"Okay honey I know how eager you are to see Sessh." Kagura chuckled at seeing her daughter's happiness.

"Well well, if I didn't know better, I'd say the two of you got back together. Could it be?" Kagome asked slyly.

"Not answering." Kagura turned her down before reaching down to pluck her daughter from the ground. "On this note, we shall be leaving. See you guys next week. By then I'll be more refreshed, and will be able to help you better with your wedding preparations."

A lingering smile on her lips, the wind sorceress walked away, her daughter in her arms, and Kagome's thoughtful chocolate orbs following her.

* * *

"Are you ready to go?" Sesshoumaru asked his young mentee as he helped her get free from the seatbelt of his car.

"Yes! Rin is so happy to go swimming today." She smiled up at him brightly before adding. "Rin also wants to see Kagura and Kanna."

Even if he did not voice it, Sesshoumaru thought that he too would very much like to see his favorite mother-daughter duo.

"Sesshoumaru!" He turned around when he heard his name being called. A smile tugged at his lips when he realized that it was none other than Kanna calling his name. The little girl was in her mother's arms, and the twosome was quickly walking towards him, identical smiles on their lips.

The dog demon took the bag he had Haruka pack for Rin and his own before locking his car, just in time to welcome his lover and her daughter with a nod.

"Looks like we made it just in time; our bus was late, so I was afraid we'd miss you." Kagura informed Sesshoumaru. She placed her daughter on the ground next to Rin, and observed as Kanna gave the other little girl a small smile before snuggling against Sesshoumaru's leg. Her apparent acceptance of Rin made her mother let out a sigh of relief.

"If you had let me drive you, this would not have happened." Sesshoumaru remarked lightly. Instead of answering him, Kagura only sent him an annoyed glare. The two had had a long discussion, which had bordered on an argument, the previous day about how to commute to the hotel where they would be swimming. The wind sorceress had insisted on coming by her own means, no matter how much Sesshoumaru had tried convincing her to let him give her and Kanna a ride.

"Are we here to argue honey, or to swim?" The wind sorceress asked him before swiftly pressing a kiss to his lips, killing any possible protest from him.

"Yay! Let's go swimming!" Rin said enthusiastically, trying to cover her surprise at seeing her mentor being kissed by Kagura. She knew that Sesshoumaru and Kagura were close, but had not realized how much they were in love before then. She grabbed Kanna's hand and not paying any more attention to the loving couple walked towards the entrance of the large building in front of them.

"Hum I think we should follow our little girls lest they get into mischief. Something tells me that if these two get along they'd be able to do some major damage." Kagura chuckled. She looped her arm around her boyfriend's, pushing him to follow after the children.

"Something tells me that you are right." His golden eyes followed with interest the small dark brown and white head of the young girls as they happily skipped in front of them.

* * *

Kagura's crimson eyes looked around at her surroundings with interest. She had heard about the Imperial, one of the city's most luxurious and expensive hotels, and had imagined it to be a beautiful place; so far she was not disappointed. The outdoors pool was as beautiful as it could be; its clear water was surrounded by warm tiles, which reflected nicely the sun's warm rays.

After she had helped Kanna and Rin change into their swimming gear, Kagura had settled on one of the comfortable long chairs scattered around the pool, and now busied herself watching the dog demon helping the two young girls swim around in the shallow waters while she worked on her tan.

"Sessh, could you tell me why we're the only ones here?" Kagura asked her lover. It had been a real surprise to her to see the pool area of one of the city's most notorious hotels be as empty as it was now. Her suspicion grew when she saw Sesshoumaru wince. She knew that he did not do so because of the cold temperature of the water.

"I will be right back. Do not go further inside the pool." The dog demon warned Kanna and Rin. He exited the knee high water and rejoined Kagura, after all he knew there was some trouble brewing for him now.

"Yes Sesshoumaru." Kanna and Rin agreed in unison.

Seeing him walk towards her, Kagura took to her feet and stood in front of him, a questioning look in her crimson eyes.

"So, do you have something to tell me? I mean I would have thought that considering the horribly warm weather we've been having today, guests of the hotel would be crowding around here." She remarked, an eyebrow raised in question as both of their eyes stayed trained on the two little girls. Even if the two of them were both splashing around in the shallow part of the pool, and that they had several floaters strapped around them, Kagura and Sesshoumaru did not let the two children out of their sight, ready to jump in if a problem came up.

"I rented the pool for us. We have it for two hours to ourselves." Sesshoumaru said before letting out a big sigh. He already anticipated Kagura's reaction.

"What? Why would you do that? The kids and I would have been content to use the pool in your apartment complex. You didn't have to give yourself so much trouble… As long as they had water, Rin and Kanna would have been having fun."

"I didn't do it for them. This Sesshoumaru just wanted to take you here." He reluctantly admitted. He did not say more, but Kagura did not need him to. She could still remember how the night after the gala he had suggested for them to have their first night in one of the expensive suite of the same hotel they now were in.

_'Even though I know he likes spending money on the people he cares about, it still makes me feel uncomfortable. Well I did refuse to let him play chauffeur for me, so I guess I can let him slide for now. Besides it looks like he was just trying to be romantic…' _She thought to herself, even as Sesshoumaru's caring side managed to melt her heart once again.

"How much did it cost you…" She could not help but ask, but Sesshoumaru quickly interrupted her with a sharp glare.

"Do not worry about it. I promise you that it wasn't that expensive. The Takahashi agency once did a promotion work for the hotel, they were pleased, so they gave me a discount. Besides this is not the hotel's main pool. People are able to rent it as I did." He told her his pre-prepared arguments. "If it makes you feel better, you can buy us dinner tonight."

"Mommy! Sesshoumaru! Look!" Kanna squealed happily as she managed to float by herself. She had no idea that she was interrupting a very interesting discussion/argument between her two 'parents.'

"Great job baby." Kagura smiled, not willing to shatter her daughter's enthusiasm by pointing out to her that her achievement was probably not of her own making, but rather due to the several floaters strapped on her. "Fine Sessh you win. I'll treat you guys to dinner."

"Kagura! Why don't you come play with us in the water? It's so hot today." Rin's intervention prevented Sesshoumaru from formulating an answer, to his great pleasure. The little girl gently splashed some water towards the wind sorceress, who quickly took a step back to avoid the cool droplets.

"No thanks guys. I'm feeling a little off today."

"Are you ill?" The dog demon asked her, unable to mask the worry in his voice.

"No don't worry about me. I've been having a lot of homework lately, which explains why I'm so bone tired all the time." She smiled at him, hoping to reassure him, and herself at the same time.

"Yes mommy come in the water! Sesshoumaru too." Kanna agreed eagerly with Rin, ignoring her mother's previous response.

'I'll come later Kanna-chan, I promise." The young mother answered, even if she had no intention to do that.

"You know, you should listen to the children." The dog demon remarked. The sudden glint that she saw appear in Sesshoumaru's eyes told Kagura that he was going to be up to some mischief. Her suspicion grew when he looked at her from top to bottom, a small smirk forming on his lips.

"Whatever you are thinking about, forget it!" She ordered him, taking a step away from her lover.

"Do not presume to order this Sesshoumaru around." In a fraction of a second, the bikini clad Kagura found herself carried in her lover's arms, bridal style. Before she could let out a scream or a word of protest, Sesshoumaru jumped in the deepest side of the pool, the cries of excitement of both Kanna and Rin ringing in his pointy ears.

"I am so going to kill you for this." Kagura puffed out after she resurfaced, as she swam away from the dog demon's side, and hurried towards the two little girls.

"That was so funny mommy. Do it again!" Kanna clapped happily.

"I am glad to see that at least _someone _was amused by my misery." The wind sorceress scoffed, pushing some of her wet bangs out of her crimson eyes.

"Do not doubt that I did too." Kagura let out a gasp when she heard Sesshoumaru whisper behind her ear.

"You!" She turned around to spit at him.

"You enjoyed it as well" He remarked as he walked away from her, easily getting to the ladder and exiting the pool.

Kagura felt like cursing him for three reasons; the first being that despite having jumped in the water, his long hair looked as lustrous as ever, contrary to hers which had started to frizz and she was sure looked like a curly mess. The second was that unlike her, he seemed to have no problem walking in the water, gliding as beautifully as he always did. The last reason was that no matter how much Kagura felt like denying it, she knew Sesshoumaru was right; she enjoyed doing something a little crazy and fun once in a while.

_'Who would have thought that Mr. Tightass had a little reckless side to him? Or maybe he did it because he realized we both needed to unwind a little bit. There's been a lot of drama lately in our lives. Perhaps he does know me well.' _Her reflection was cut short when Kanna splashed some water in her direction.

"Oh someone wants to play?" She responded to her daughter's play by splashing some water back at her. "I don't think you can beat your mommy though baby."

"It's okay. Rin will help me. Now it's us two against you." The words were barely out of the mouth of the young void demoness smiling mouth, that Rin indeed started helping her, and threw some water in the direction of the laughing Kagura.

Sesshoumaru was seated on the long chair Kagura had vacated only minutes ago, and looked at the three of them absorbed in their water war.

_'It is always nice to see all of them having fun.' _No matter how relaxed Sesshoumaru wanted to appear to the girls he loved so much, he could not shake the feeling of worry, nor the impression that something bad was going to happen very soon.

_'This is a ridiculous impression that I must shake off. As long as I am able to protect them, it will all be alright.' _

"Sessh come help me, these two are too good; I don't think I can make it on my own." Kagura asked over her shoulder, her eyes closed lest the two little girls managed to get water into them.

It was clear to Sesshoumaru that she had no need of his help, but he correctly guesses that she was looking for a way to include him in his fun time with the two little girls. Without speaking a word, he did as asked and slipped back into the water.

"Now let us see which team will win." He stated before raising a pale stripe adorned arm to protect his face from the water Kanna and Rin immediately started splashing at him.

* * *

"Rin is so happy. I had so much fun!" The human child was finishing getting dressed in the hotel's locker room while Kagura busied herself assisting her daughter. After helping Kanna dress in a cute little white summer dress, she was now brushing her hair to part it in pigtails which would be held up with the flower pins she had received from her friend Shippou.

"I am glad to hear it." The wind sorceress smiled. The four of them had gone on splashing water at each other, and floating around in the pool for the two hours Sesshoumaru had secured for their personal use. It had also coincided with the time Rin and Kanna were ready for a snack and a break.

"Hum Kagura… could you do my hair for me too?… After you're done with Kanna of course." Rin asked, a nice blush dusting her cheeks.

"It would be my pleasure to do so honey." She assured Rin noticing the child's unease. Kagura was half expecting her daughter to protest, but to her surprise Kanna said nothing. She happily thanked her mother once the wind sorceress was done doing her hair, and after picking up her small bag went to settle down on one of the benches nearby.

Her mother had packed her overnight bag since they would be spending the night at Sesshoumaru's penthouse. From it Kanna retrieved her beloved stuffed toy Kuma-chan, which Kagura had brought along for her to sleep with. Kanna played with her toy silently waiting for her mother to finish helping Rin get ready. The young void demoness was looking forward to the rest of the day, which after she took a nap she knew would include dinner with Sesshoumaru and then a sleepover at her most favorite place, his apartment.

"Could you tie my hair with this?" Rin fished a ribbon out of her jeans pocket and handed it to the wind sorceress.

"Wait. Kanna-chan? Isn't that the ribbon Kaede-san gave you?" Kagura asked her daughter, referring to the gift their old neighbor had given Kanna when she used to babysit the child.

"I gave it to Rin because she couldn't sleep." Kanna commented. She did not even bother looking up from Kuma-chan when she spoke.

Kagura smiled happily at seeing how without her noticing the two little girls had managed to become some sort of friends.

"Come over here, and let me brush your hair." Kagura worked diligently on trying to rid Rin's hair of knots while not hurting her. The young human's hair was not as silky as Kanna's or Sesshoumaru's, but reminded Kagura of her difficult to handle and tame curly dark mane.

_'I don't have typical demonic hair for sure…' _The wind sorceress thought to herself.

"One of these days, I'm really going to have to do a treatment on your hair. One of my close friends is called Yura, she's a hair demoness and taught me lots of things about how to take care of difficult hair. I'm sure I could make your hair all nice and silky, like a pretty princess." As she finished talking, Kagura tied the orange ribbon around Rin's newly made pigtail.

At hearing her words, the young human smiled happily. She could still remember the times when her mother would spend long minutes brushing her hair, and the six year old really missed having times such as these. Sesshoumaru was a great mentor, and sort of father figure, but he could never be able to replace the gentleness of her mother.

_'At least there's Kagura and Kanna.' _Rin grinned as the three females walked out of the locker rooms to reunite with Sesshoumaru.

* * *

As she walked towards her lover, Kagura noticed how several women were openly ogling Sesshoumaru, but what amazed her the most was how oblivious he seemed to be to the attention he got from the females all around him.

_'Can't really blame them, my man is gorgeous.' _She thought to herself as she looped her body around his arm, sending a glare at the red haired woman next to them whose eyes were rived on the dog demon's backside. Being caught staring, the woman blushed before quickly running away.

"What took you so long?" Sesshoumaru asked as he used his free arm to take a hold of Kanna's hand, while Rin settled herself as Kagura's other arm.

It was not the easiest way to walk as a group, but he did not complain; he quite enjoyed having his little 'family' around him.

"We are women and it takes us time to make ourselves beautiful." Kagura answered with a chuckle. Her answer brought a smile to his lips.

"I see. It seems you have succeeded." He remarked before asking "What shall we have for dinner?"

"Chinese!" Kanna answered without missing a beat.

"Would that be fine with you Rin-chan?" Kagura asked the other child who was holding her hand.

"Hum-uh Rin wants fried rice." She was glad not only to be asked for her opinion, but also to have Kagura refer to her in such a sweet manner. _'She is talking to Rin as she would talk to her daughter.' _She thought proudly to herself.

"Let us go then." The linked merry foursome walked towards the parking lot where Sesshoumaru's car was parked.

* * *

"We had a fun day." Kagura murmured against the perspiration slick skin of Sesshoumaru' naked chest. The demoness was lying entwined with Sesshoumaru under his bed sheets, her head resting on his chest, taking a rest after making love.

"We did." He agreed. Their bout of love making had drained him of too much energy to say more, not to mention that he was trying to get his strength back; he did want to take Kagura at least once more before going to sleep with his love in his arms.

"The girls seem to get along nicely now, which is great." The wind sorceress said after pressing a kiss to his skin, a sigh of contentment escaping her lips.

"Indeed. At least Kanna refrained from throwing juice at Rin this time; it made dinner quite uneventful." His words made Kagura dissolve in laughter.

"How can you say that? You horrible man!" She slapped his chest playfully.

"You call this Sesshoumaru horrible?" He asked slipping from under her to raise his body over hers, easily flipping their positions. Noticing the lustful glint in his eyes, Kagura felt herself warm.

"Ready for another round lover boy?" Instead of answering Kagura's question, he pressed a long tender kiss to her lips then moved over to nip her neck.

Just as he was about settle himself back between her thighs, he heard his phone ring. He let a growl of annoyance escape his throat, and decided to ignore it.

"Sesshy, get the phone. It could be something important." She scolded him, pushing his lips away from her skin.

Without another word, the dog demon did as asked and extended his long arm to get the ringing machine.

"Yes." He spoke inside the receiver. To his surprise he did not hear anything coming from the other side. Shrugging off the interruption he replaced the phone on its cradle.

"A waste of this Sesshoumaru's time." He snorted before not only hanging up the phone, but also pulling its cord out of the wall, uncaring if the machine broke in the process. He had a feeling that if he had not gotten rid of it, they would have been interrupted again. However he wanted to take as much advantage as possible from the short time he had with Kagura. The wind sorceress was after all probably not going to be able to sleepover in his bed for at least another week. Due to her working two jobs, and taking night classes, Saturday evenings were the only nights when they could see each other alone.

"What was it?" Kagura asked her lover surprised by the sour expression displayed on his face all of a sudden.

"Nothing. Do not worry about it." He stated. As he leaned over the wind sorceress to press a kiss to her neck, the thought occurred to him that for the past few days he had received several phone calls as the one he had had. The person on the other end of the line would just hang up as soon as he picked up. It annoyed him to no end, but he tried convincing himself that it was a prank rather than a threat. Not wanting Kagura to worry he pushed the thought of the phone call away.

_'There is no need to worry.' _He ordered himself again, pushing away the feeling of dread he had been experiencing for days now. _'I have the wind witch back in my bed, and Kanna under my roof. I will be able to protect them as long as I shall breathe.'_

* * *

While Sesshoumaru Takahashi was busy making love to the woman who held his heart, someone was plotting his demise.

The dark man hung up the phone, a smirk on his lips. For the past few days he had been calling the same number at odd hours to unsettle the man to who the number belonged.

_'It is time to make my presence known.'_

**To be continued…**

A/N: Things will heat up after this lovey-dovery/family fun interlude. Both Sesshoumaru and Kagura will make interesting encounters. The next chapter will be called **Contact…** we will also get some unexpected news about an upcoming addition to the Takahashi family :) Try to guess what it could be lol. Unfortunately there won't be any updates again next week. I am so sorry guys, but I have a very busy summer schedule.


	61. Sometime around midnight

_**Chapter 61: Sometime around midnight**_

A/N: I am so sorry for not updating sooner. Please forgive me! Just when I was doubting myself, and thinking that maybe people were losing interest in the story, you showered me with nice reviews, and I even got a few new reviewers. Thank you guys!

After much guessing, we will now see who will be the new addition to the Takahashi family. I hope you like the chapter.

Thanks so much for reviewing:

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25Vvctor**

**Soojinyeh**

**Kagura's number one fan **(Kagura pregnant? I never said that... guess you'll have to wait and see.)

**FlashFreeze**

**Prettyeyes123432**

**DeathAngel69** (Sesshy adopting Rin? Don't know about that, and Naraku will make his big return soon. He did like the idea of the water gun. Anything to make Sessh's hair frizz lol)

Once again thanks to **Dogsfang **for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(The real drama is going to start next chapter actually… Hope you're not disappointed!)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

Sesshoumaru was in his bedroom, critically eying his reflection in the mirror. Even though he knew he was handsome, enough people had told him so, he was not vain, and did not often put a serious effort into dressing. However he liked looking good; especially when he was to go on a date with the woman he loved, and had an important question to ask her. A question that would affect their common future.

After dressing up, he was about to reach for his car keys when he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Puzzled, he reached for it, and when he realized Kagura was the one calling him, he quickly answered.

"Kagura?"

"Oh hi Sessh. I'm sorry to call you at the last minute like this, but I'd like to cancel our date tonight."

Sesshoumaru repressed the urge to sigh in disappointment, and instead simply asked, making sure to keep his exasperation in check "Again?"

"I know…" He could almost feel her wince. "I'm really sorry honey, but I promise I'll make it up to you. Tonight is just no good… Kanna isn't feeling very well."

"What is the matter with her?" He asked, for the moment pushing away his annoyance at having Kagura cancel one of their dates for the third time in a row in only one week. Considering that the wind sorceress had the week off at school, they had met plans to meet several times, but Kagura had always found an excuse to bail on him.

"It's not that bad. I think she just has a cold. However I'd rather keep an eye on her, and stay home so she gets rest."

"I understand." He said, and meant it. His 'fun time' with Kagura was not worth Kanna's good health. "I could always stop by, maybe bring some medicine." He suggested.

"No!" She quickly interrupted him, then realizing how suspicious she had just sounded, quickly added "I don't want you to trouble yourself. I just ran to the pharmacy and got her some cold medicine. It knocked her out for the night. She's already in bed, and only needs a good night's sleep. She'll be just fine in no time."

"If you think so…"

"Yes, I do. Sessh I've got to go check on Kanna, but I'll talk to you tomorrow. Again I'm sorry about tonight. I love you. Bye." Without waiting for him to answer, she hung up the phone.

A deep frown on his face, the dog demon went back to his bedroom to change. There was no sense staying dressed in his nice clothes if he was not to see his girlfriend.

_'I wonder what is wrong with Kagura. Lately it is as if she finds any excuse not to see me. I have no idea what happened, and everything was so good when we went to the pool…' _He reflected on the wind sorceress's surprising behavior as of late.

_'There is no need to worry. I will see Kagura tomorrow, and Kanna will be better by then.' _He thought to himself, truly hoping it would be so.

* * *

Sesshoumaru Takahashi was not a demon who frightened lightly, nor was he prone to bouts of panic. However when Kagura had called him the afternoon they were supposed to meet up for a date, and asked him to reschedule _again_ because Kanna was still not feeling well enough, he became worried and scared. The night he had had to rush the little girl to the hospital was after all too fresh in his mind.

After debating for a few hours, he disregarded Kagura's request, and found himself on the way to her apartment. The wind sorceress had assured him Kanna only had a cold, and that they would get to see each other in a few days, but he did not feel like waiting.

_'For the past week the witch has been avoiding me, and I want to see her. Besides I am Sesshoumaru Takahashi, and I will do as I please.' _He thought to himself as he exited his black luxury car, and headed towards Kagura's current living space. He once again could not prevent a frown from marring his face. As much as he wanted Kagura and Kanna to move back with him in the luxury and comfort of his penthouse, he knew it was not possible.

_'But only for now. Soon enough I will make the witch and her daughter move back in with me.' _He swore to himself. He was about to ring the bell of the apartment, but refrained when he remembered the late time, and the fact that Kanna would probably be in bed by now; especially if she was sickly.

_'I am sure this would constitute as an emergency.' _He thought smugly, inserting in the lock the key to her apartment the wind sorceress had recently entrusted to him in the case of an emergency.

Even though Sesshoumaru and Kagura had gotten back together he had never visited her apartment at night. Considering that she shared a bedroom with her daughter, whenever they met at night, it was at his penthouse, where while they satisfied their passion for each other, Kanna could enjoy a restful sleep in her crib still present in the dog demon's guest bedroom.

After pondering and rejecting the idea to go around the place calling Kagura's name, he walked further inside the small apartment, turning lights on as he went.

_'Why is everything so dark in here?' _The confused inu youkai wondered as he finally reached the room he knew to be the bedroom Kagura and Kanna shared.

A smiled tugged at his lips when he came upon the sight of a deeply asleep Kanna securely tucked under the covers of the bed, only her pale face showing. He pressed a clawed hand to her forehead, and was glad to see she did not seem to have a fever.

_'Kagura was probably right, Kanna seems to be okay.' _He was relieved and wondered if he had wasted his time coming, when he heard a loud expletive coming from an adjacent room.

"Damn it!" He heard again. The fact that it was clearly said in the voice of a pissed of wind sorceress caught his attention. Without wasting time, he silently left the bedroom, and moved further along the dark corridor. There he saw another door, slightly ajar from where he could see only a sliver of light coming.

"Why do they have to make the instructions so damn complicated?" He heard her add. She seemed to be talking to nobody in particular, merely ranting to herself.

"Kagura? What are you doing?" He asked just as he opened the door wide. The sight that greeted his eyes, was going to be etched in his mind forever, that he was sure of.

"Sesshoumaru?" She gasped not even hiding the box she was clutching in her palm. "What are you doing here?... How did you even get in?"

"I came to check on Kanna… I used the key you gave me." He said on a monotone voice, eyes rived on the pinkish cardboard box in his lover's hand, unable to look away. He idly wondered if his words were actually making sense since for the life of him he really would not have been able to repeat what he had just said, was he to be asked.

Following his line of sight, she blushed and threw away the package on the counter behind her. She was aware it was a futile attempt as he had already seen what it was, but she needed to do something; the look in his eyes scared her.

_'He seems so shell-shocked. I guess I better just be honest with him…' _She thought to herself. She had intended to bear the burden and worries of her possible situation by herself as she did not want him to worry. _'Especially since I don't know what's going to happen, or if the pregnancy test is positive or not…'_

"I see." She said aloud then nervously licked her lower lip. "I just did the test, and I was trying to read the instructions. You'd think that I already had experience with this kind of thing … but when I did it before it was a different brand… Am I even making sense? I don't know. I'm not one to ramble as you know, I only do it when I'm fucking nervous."

It was then only that he pushed his own shock away, and noticed that her hands were badly shaking, and that she had tears brimming in her eyes; making it hard for her to read the instruction manual that had come with the pregnancy test she had just taken.

"Let me see." He used his authoritative voice, the one that left the people he addressed no choice but to abide to his words.

Not bothering to argue with the dog demon, Kagura handed over to him the instruction manual, which to his surprise was made out of several pages. In a way she was glad he was here and taking over the situation; it gave her time to think about her conflicted emotions.

"You have impeccable timing as usual. You magically appeared just at the right moment…" She laughed nervously, then seeing he obviously was not amused by the situation, she quickly added "I was going to tell you… I mean as soon as I knew if I was really pregnant or not. I didn't want you to worry you for nothing…"

"I know." He did his best to concentrate on the papers in his hand lest he lose his usual cool.

"With all the secrets that have been between us, and cleared after only so much trouble I promised myself I wouldn't keep things away from you anymore. We did promise to be honest with each other…" Not comfortable doing nothing, she carefully picked up the small plastic stick, and looked at the single line now displayed on it.

"I am aware of that. Do not worry, I trust you." Then as he spotted the paragraph he was looking for he added "If there are two bars, it is positive, meaning you are indeed pregnant." He said it on as monotone voice as possible. He did not want to worry her, or let her know how he felt, which mainly was simply surprised and confused. The fact that he was worried about the result also had to do with his reaction.

"Oh thank God!" She let out a deep sigh. Not wasting one second she threw in the pregnancy test she had taken in the waste bin of her small bathroom. "For a second there I really thought I was pregnant. It seems that I am just a little late; nothing to worry about then." She brought a shaky hand to her forehead pushing some of her bangs out of her eyes before forcing a smile on her lips.

"I thought you were on the pill." The fact that despite the conflicting feelings of joy, worry, anger and surprise raging through him he managed to keep his cool, amazed him.

"Well… I am… I was off it for a little while, but now I'm taking it again, so all's good. Let's get out of here and talk in the living room." The words were barely out of her mouth that she quickly fled. The bathroom was too small, Sesshoumaru too close to her, and his golden gaze was able to look too deeply inside her.

Kagura quickly walked past him, and headed out of the room. "Actually before that, I think I'll go check on Kanna." She murmured eager to find a way to run away.

"No." He took a hold of her wrist, stopping her progression. "As you said we are going to talk. Do not think this Sesshoumaru will let you go so easily. Besides I already checked on her; Kanna is fine." He swiftly walked back towards the living room, ignoring Kagura's words of protest, and dragging her along.

He only let go of her hand when the two of them were settled next to each other on her couch.

"For how long have you thought you were… pregnant?" Speaking the words still felt weird to him. He had briefly thought about Kagura having his child, once at his beach house, then not too long ago when they had made love in his office, but never had he truly imagined what it would be like; at least not until now.

"Not too long, only a week." She whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear her. _'A week of pure terror.' _She thought to herself. _'I didn't intend for him to find out about this… especially like this.'_

"Is that why you have refused to see me, and pretended that Kanna was sick for the past two days? Not to mention all our dates that you have cancelled at the last second for the past week?" It suddenly occurred to him that the wind sorceress had probably lied about Kanna being sick in order to avoid him.

"I didn't pretend! She is really sick, but she's feeling better now. Besides I haven't been avoiding you… I just wanted to think for a few days. Try to figure out for myself what it would mean to me… to us if I really was pregnant." The way she was staring straight into his golden eyes assured him she was telling the truth._ 'Not to mention that I was too scared to take the test. In a way I am glad Sesshoumaru was with me when I saw the results…' _

'_I am sure she was going to tell me eventually even if I had not stumbled upon her.' _He thought to himself. _'I do trust her after all.'_

"I believe we can now put this behind us." The dog demon stated, his eyes focused on Kagura.

"Yeah… I guess." Kagura said on a shaky tone. More than Sesshoumaru's previous questions, what suddenly worried Kagura was the much unexpected feeling of loss she was suddenly experiencing.

'_Before I finally got myself to take the test, I thought about the situation… and realized it wouldn't be that bad to have a baby. I guess a small part of me wanted this baby to be real. I guess it's normal for me to feel this way. I love Sesshoumaru, and having his kid would please me. Not to mention that he'd be a great dad… much better than Shin.'_ She tried rationalizing her unexpected disappointment.

'_I could see a future with Sesshoumaru. After I graduate, I could get a job, then we could get married, and have more little ones.'_ Her mind was then assaulted by the delightful image of baby, who happened to be a perfect mix of Sesshoumaru and her.

She was then sure that she would love to bear his child, and when she did register that she indeed would not be having Sesshoumaru's child, she felt tears coming up to her eyes. "Damn it! I'm sorry, I don't even know why I'm crying." She smiled when he wiped a stray tear from her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

As uncomfortable as he usually was with open displays of affection, he overcame his discomfort and wrapped his arms around Kagura, holding on tightly to her.

"What the hell is wrong with me? I should be glad that I'm not pregnant, but I can't seem to stop from fucking crying… But I'm not sad… And I'm not even an overly emotional person to begin with." She interrupted herself to sniffle and burrow her face against the dog demon's neck, taking comfort in his presence, not paying attention to the amount of tears she was putting down his expensive designer shirt.

"I mean… we're not ready to have a kid anyway. I AM not ready. I want to finish school, and get a career before I have more children, so not anytime soon. A baby right not is not a good thing, right?" She raised her teary face to look into his amber eyes. She was confused about her feelings, and was looking at Sesshoumaru for guidance.

He realized she was asking for his opinion, and decided to give it. "When we are ready to have children…" He interrupted himself to take a deep breath, then added "In a few years' time… or whenever it might be that is, I will give you as many babies as you want. Three, five, ten… be assured this Sesshoumaru will enjoy making them, and raising them."

His comforting words were exactly what Kagura needed to hear. She immediately dissolved in laughter, and buried her face deeper against his skin.

"Wow ten kids? We'd have to move to the country and raise them on a farm." She chuckled gently.

"Do not worry. This Sesshoumaru is good with animals; I helped raise Inuyasha after all." He commented dryly with as much a straight face as he could. He hated seeing Kagura cry, and was hoping that making her laugh would help bring her mind to ease. He had been slightly hurt that she had not immediately come to him asking for help when she had thought she might be pregnant with his child, but decided not to hold it against her.

_'Being raised by that scum of Naraku, she is not used to needing people and depending on them, but she will learn. _I _will teach her.' _ He vowed to himself.

The image of the always impeccably dressed dog demon dressed in denim overalls and rubber boots feeding chickens in a coop with hoards of small silver and dark haired demons running around him that popped up in her head made Kagura laugh even harder. "You really always know how to make me feel better." She quickly wiped the rest of her tears, and reluctantly broke away from his embrace and comforting warmth. _'Wouldn't want him to run away thinking he has a hysterical girlfriend.'_ She chuckled to herself.

"Now that we know we are _not_ expecting, can you tell me why you came here so late tonight?" She asked him, eager to make him forget about her previous meltdown all gone.

"This Sesshoumaru told you before; I came to see if Kanna was feeling better." He shrugged his shoulders, hoping she wouldn't see through him, but of course she did.

"Please don't lie to me. We're all about honesty, right? For the past days I've had a feeling you wanted to tell me something, so go ahead."

"Fine." He reluctantly admitted. "I came to ask for your opinion on a matter." Considering what he had just walked in on, he felt uncomfortable asking her about the other reason that had prompted his visit.

"About what?" She asked. Then noticing his unease, she quickly added, taking a hold of his large hands in her smaller ones. "I'm sure what just happened must have… unsettled you, but honey nothing changed between us. We still love each other, and are still together. We didn't even argue, which has to be a miracle and a first for us. Come on, please tell me what's wrong. It must have been something important for you to come all the way here so late."

'_How could I ever resist giving into her request when she looks at me like that, with her irresistible crimson eyes?'_ He thought to himself before letting out in a sigh. "Rin. A couple has expressed interest in adopting her."

"What? They can't do that… I mean what about _you_?" The wind sorceress exclaimed truly shocked. She had noticed how close the dog demon was to his mentee, and had realized that ever since Rin had entered his life, he had started opening up more to people around him.

'_Rin is good for him, and he is good for her too.' _Kagura reflected, easily calling to mind how Rin had happily smiled when they had gone out to dinner only a week ago.

"I am merely a mentor to her, not a father…" He kept all sadness out of his voice.

"Bullshit!" Kagura exclaimed. "That is a bunch of lies, and you know it." She took his clawed hand in hers again, and squeezed it.

He would have almost grinned at how easily Kagura was able to see through him.

"I'm sure you came to ask me if you should throw your hat in the ring, and place an adoption request for her, and my answer is hell _yes_! It is obvious to me and to anybody with a brain and two eyes that you already love that little girl as if she was your own. Heck I love her too, and Rin even managed to make Kanna like her too. She's a part of _our_ family!"

Hearing Kagura speak of them forming a family made his heart lift. Had he been honest, he would have admitted that when he first saw Kagura with a pregnancy test, a part of him had hoped she was pregnant. He did want a family of his own, and wanted Kagura, Kanna and Rin to be a part of it more than anything.

'_And this Sesshoumaru is not one to deny myself what I want.' _He thought to himself.

"I see. I guess you are right. I will contact Haruka first thing tomorrow."

"Well yeah you better. I'm not familiar with adoption procedures, but I'll help with your request as much as I can. If I need to tell them how amazing you are, or how great of a father figure you are to Kanna and Rin, just let me know. I will do whatever it takes." The way she smiled up at him made him melt inside.

He nodded his gratitude before bending down to press a kiss on her lips. The wind sorceress gladly accepted his kiss, and took him in her arms. Staying away from him for only a week had made her realize how much she had come to love, depend on, and need Sesshoumaru.

"I love you." She sighed happily.

"I know." He assured her. He then gently rubbed her back and placed a kiss on her neck, made exposed to his appreciative lips by her position.

"Cocky bastard." She chuckled against his skin. She relaxed in his arms, and placed her head on his shoulder. As much as she wanted them to go beyond gentle kisses, and a few exchanged caresses, she knew it would not be possible since Kanna was curled on the only bed right now.

_'Knowing Sesshoumaru, I am sure he wouldn't mind the couch, but I'm not comfortable with us doing it out in the open like this. The bed is low enough for Kanna to slide off by herself. I can't imagine how shocked she would be if I she ever walked in on Sesshoumaru and me making love…'_ Only the thought of it horrified Kagura.

The two of them snuggled in silence for a little while then he said. "Now that you have admitted that you love me, and that we form a family, do you not think it is time for you to move back in with me?" At hearing his question, she broke away from their embrace, and stared in his eyes.

"Geez! You really are a dog, once you have a bone, you don't let it go!" She rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "I'll think about it and let you know." She had already thought about the matter, and wanted very much to resume their relationship as it was before. She had wanted to be careful, but after that night, the dog demon had proved himself more than worthy once more. Moreover, she and Kanna did miss the luxuries his penthouse had to offer, despite the fact that she would never admit it to his face.

"You have two minutes to think on the matter." He informed her, a grin on his lips.

"What why?" She exclaimed in shock.

"You are wasting time wind witch." He gently smoothed her bangs out of her eyes.

She glared at him before speaking "Cut the crap about that stupid countdown."

"Fine. Now in all seriousness, you do realize we cannot keep going this way, going back and forth between our two apartments. Now before you start arguing about costs, I have decided that you will contribute to paying the bills."

"_You_ have decided?" She asked in surprise.

"Indeed. I would ask you to resume housekeeping duties, but you are extremely busy." He said thoughtfully.

"Hum it seems to me that you've got the whole situation figured out…" She chuckled, thinking _'This could actually work.'_

"I have had a lot of time to think about lately while you were avoiding me…"

"Gosh! I was not _avoiding _you, I just needed time to think about us, and I thought I was pregnant, so excuse me for being a little bit emotional!"

He raised his hand to placate her before speaking. "Do not be angry, I was not accusing you in any way." Now that he knew how Kagura must have been worried about her possible pregnancy, he did not want to make her feel worse.

"I know, sorry for overreacting…" She paused, cocking her head to the side while she thought. "I guess Kanna is going to be extremely happy."

"Have I persuaded you this easily?" A smile tugged at his lips, hope rising in his chest.

"Just don't act smug about it." She rolled her eyes. "My rent is only on a month-to-month basis, so…"

"The month ends in only a few days, it should give you ample time to move back home." He stated, glad to have convinced Kagura to move back in with him so easily. _'I honestly had not planned to ask her to move back in with me any time soon, but things just worked out this way. Although to be honest I am surprised she accepted my offer. Considering how she used to refuse my help in the past, I thought she would have put up more of a fight. Then again maybe that now that she has a job, and is going to school, she feels more comfortable in her dealings with money. It could also have to do with my offer to split living costs…'_

"_Home_? I like the sound of that." The words were barely out of her mouth that he pressed a hungry kiss to her lips. When she felt his hands trail down her sides, she broke their lip lock. "I'm sorry honey, but you know we can't, not here."

He repressed a groan from escaping his throat, and thought to himself, _'In only a few days she will be back _home_ where she belongs, and I will be able to have the witch every night, as many times as I want.'_

"I'll be right back. I'll go get us something to drink." The wind sorceress said aiming to put some distance between the two of them to prevent themselves from getting too carried away.

When Kagura stood up to get them some refreshments, his eyes followed her swaying hips, and he could not help to add to himself _'Maybe I could get her to move in tomorrow…'_

* * *

Even her encounter with Sesshoumaru on the previous night, or her quickly planned moving had not shaken Kagura enough for her not to come to work. However because of a pesky dog demon, who had insisted on taking her and her daughter out for breakfast, she was late for work.

_'Hopefully Jakotsu won't give me too much of an earful…'_ She thought even as she knew it would not be so.

"I'm sorry for being late." She exclaimed as she pushed through the door of the young mother center.

"My you finally decided to show your face. At least you didn't miss your visitor." Jakotsu said on as dry a tone as he could. He truly was eager for Kagura to talk to the handsome man that had come to see her. The quicker she talked to him, the quicker he would know what was going on.

"Visitor?" The wind sorceress whispered.

"That would be me." An unfamiliar voice stated. Kagura then turned to her side to look in the speaker's direction. Her eyes then trailed down from the stranger's eyes, so similar to her crimson ones, and looked down at the hand he extended towards her.

"Byakuya Fujibayashi. It's a pleasure to meet you _big sister_." He said a bright smile on his lips.

* * *

Sesshoumaru was in a good mood. After spending the night snuggled with Kagura, he had had a nice breakfast with her and Kanna. He then dropped by his penthouse, and took the time to shower and change before heading for the office.

As soon as he settled behind his desk, he picked up the phone to call his faithful retainer Jaken. The little toad would need to have his penthouse cleaned, and its fridge restocked before Kagura and Kanna moved back in.

_'The witch would have a fit if she saw how I neglected the housecleaning during her absence.' _As much as he hated the idea of having a stranger go through his things, and clean his private space, he felt it would be better than having her argue with him about doing chores.

'_We will have more pleasurable things to occupy our time with.'_ He grinned happily at the idea of having Kagura back in his bed.

"You've got a visitor boss." Kiriko popped her head through his office door. A frown on his face, Sesshoumaru placed the phone back on its cradle before addressing his employee "Send him in. Then call my lawyer, and tell him to come see me as soon as he can." He instructed, wondering who could have come visit him, and also already thinking about the possible steps to have Rin become a part of his expanding family.

"My dear _son in-law_ it is such a pleasure to see you again." None other than Naraku said as he walked inside Sesshoumaru's office.

"How dare you come here?" The dog demon stood so fast that his chair fell back.

"Do not worry, I am merely here to make a deal. A very interesting one for the both of us…"

**To be continued…**

A/N: I once again apologize for not updating too often. At least the chapter was long. The Fall semester starts soon, so I might have more time for writing.

Drama drama drama! As you can guess the end is drawing nearer. What does Byakuya want with Kagura, and what is Naraku's offer? Find out in the next chapter named **Contact**.


	62. Contact

_**Chapter 62: Contact**_

A/N: Hello guys, I am so sorry I didn't update for such a long while, and I am even sorrier that I left you guys hanging at such a nerve wracking place. At least this one's a long chapter.

In any case thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a review. I even got some new reviewers, which makes me even happier:

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25Vvctor**

**BlackMagicWhiteMagic**

**FlashFreeze **(I am glad you are so excited about the story. You may have reasons to rejoice about Rin, but we will see about Byakuya's appearance)

**DeathAngel69 **

**Roguereader **(Aw your review made me so glad. I am so glad that my story isn't filled of insipid clichés :) I like the Sesshy adopting Rin better than her being his mate for sure!)

**Nasuto91Thehalfdemon **

(I am so very thankful for your praise. I hope you keep on enjoying the story)

**New to FF **(Thanks for the words of encouragement. Don't worry about the story ending though. At the pace I'm going, it might take me a couple months to wrap up everything lol)

_(On )_

**Zetsuii **(Hum how will Kagura handle meeting Byakuya? And will Sesshy actually adopt Rin? We shall see)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"_I'm sorry for being late." Kagura exclaimed as she pushed through the door of the young mother center._

_ "My you finally decided to show your face. At least you didn't miss your visitor." Jakotsu said on as dry a tone as he could. He truly was eager for Kagura to talk to the handsome man that had come to see her. The quicker she talked to him, the quicker he would know what was going on._

_ "Visitor?" The wind sorceress whispered. _

_ "That would be me." An unfamiliar voice stated. Kagura then turned to her side to look in the speaker's direction. Her eyes then trailed down from the stranger's eyes, so similar to her crimson ones, and looked down at the hand he extended towards her._

_ "Byakuya Fujibayashi. It's a pleasure to meet you big sister." He said a bright smile on his lips._

"What? I think you are confused…" Kagura blurted even as his use of the name 'Fujibayashi' resonated through her. _'It couldn't be… _she_ can't have sent her son after me.'_

"No confusion to be had. I am sure you are familiar with my mother… Sakura Fujibayashi. Don't worry, I am not here to try to make you to talk to her, all I want is to talk to you, and get to know my big sister. That's all. Despite what she told me about you, I had one hard time finding you. Our dear mother may have mentioned you, but she forgot to tell me where to find you." Byakuya raised his hand, ready to defend himself.

"Ah secret siblings… it sure explains the eerie resemblance." Jakotsu remarked thoughtfully, his eyes alternating from Kagura's crimson eyes to Byakuya's.

"We do look alike, do we not? I must admit I am surprised. Neither of us looks like our mom though." Byakuya shrugged before adding for Jakotsu's benefit "She's a void demoness." The young demon than looked back at his older half-sibling and spoke "Even though my dad is an illusion demon, and that from what I managed to pry from mom, Kagura's dad was… or is I'm not sure… a wind demon, Kagura and me do look like twins! I must say I am glad. At least one of my siblings isn't the spitting image of mom. Hakudoushi is all pale with white hair, at least he has dad's lavender eyes…"

"Stop talking to me about your family! I don't give a damn! And stop talking as if I wasn't here." The wind sorceress said, shaking in rage.

"Hum looks like a family drama is under way here." Jakotsu relished the confrontation that was to happen, his eyes now trained on Kagura.

"Jakotsu! Bring your ass over here!" A masculine voice suddenly exclaimed from behind a door.

"Aw what a pity. It seems my sweet dear boyfriend is calling for me." He sighed before turning towards the hallway. "I'll be right here darling." Jakotsu exclaimed as he sauntered over to where he knew Bankotsu was. He was aware his boyfriend had probably been listening to their conversation, and wanted him to let Kagura and Byakuya talk in peace. _'But at least I'll still be able to listen to their conversation' _He thought happily.

"You have a very… er… _colorful_ boss. I do envy you." Byakuya chuckled, his eyes following Jakotsu.

"Why are you really here? You said that she didn't send you, but I can't believe that." Kagura cut him, eager to have this conversation be down with.

"I understand that you really don't trust me, I didn't give you any reason to. However all I really want is to get to know you. Seriously, nothing else." Byakuya put as much pleading in his voice as he could.

"As I told _your_ mother before, I have no wish to get to know her, or anyone affiliated with her. I want you to leave now, and not come back."

"I'm sure that we not only look alike, but also think alike. Therefore I bet that you've a serious case of pigheadedness, just like me. Besides me coming here must have been a shock for you… I'll let you be for now, but if you want to get in touch with me, I left my card with your delightful boss. Tell Jakotsu I said bye." Without waiting for Kagura to answer, he walked away.

The door of the center had barely closed behind Byakuya that Jakotsu reappeared.

"Aw did he already leave?" The young human asked with a pout as he walked towards Kagura.

"Shut up. I know what you're going to say, but I really don't want to listen to it." She retorted, even as she thought _'The only person I want to talk to right now is Sesshoumaru. He wouldn't judge me, he'd just listen to my confused mind…' _

"Actually I really think you should listen to me. Come here." Jakotsu took Kagura by the arm, and led her to a corridor, which led to the smaller classroom in the center.

"What do you want from me?" The wind sorceress questioned just as she shrugged off the hold Jakotsu had on her arm. The two of them were now situated in the small room, behind a closed door.

"When you interviewed for the job here at the center, you told me… _us_ that you had no living relatives." He pointed out.

"Well… yeah, apart from Kanna I do not." This time she had a harder time letting the words out. Now that she had met her brother, her resolve to keep Sakura out of her life was crumbling. After all Byakuya was right, he did look just like a male version of her, and despite herself Kagura was curious to know in which _other_ ways they resembled each other.

"Well now we both know it's bullshit." Jakotsu pointed out. "I don't think you realize how lucky you are to have a family that actually wants to associate with you."

Kagura was taken aback by the anger now present in Jakotsu's heavily made up eyes. She had never seen him lose his smiling expression, even when he was exasperated somehow he always managed to display a bright smile.

"What's it to you anyways?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I guess nothing except that I can't let a friend of mine do something stupid!" He shouted. "I mean the guy came all the way over here to only _talk_ to you. I'd give an arm for my brother to do the same and…"

Kagura quickly interrupted him. "Your brother? You never mentioned having family either." She retorted.

"Yeah well for good reasons. You see I'd love to be able to, but I can't… because it hurts too damned much!" He then paused to take a deep breath before adding "The conversation we are about to have has to stay between us. Whatever happens _never_ let Bankotsu know." Jakotsu then took the time to turn around, and check that the door of the room was indeed closed before continuing.

"I've been raised in what I guess you could call a loving traditional family. That is until I turned sixteen... It was then that I finally got the guts to tell my parents I was gay. Not that it should have come to a surprise to them, I mean have you looked at me?" He let out a humorless chuckle before passing a finger over his red painted lips. "My father went crazy, and threw me out of the house. He warned me never to come in contact with him, my mother or my brother. Of course needless to say neither my mom nor big brother tried to come to my help, they were as disgusted as my dad was." Despite the carefree tone Jakotsu had used, Kagura could see how much he was still hurting.

"Oh my God! What kind of parents would do that?" She gasped in shock. _'And I thought I had a fucked up dysfunctional family…' _She thought, her heart breaking for her friend.

"Yeah well sorry to disappoint you, but not all parents are as open minded and understanding as you are." He scoffed, unamused. "At least after only a few days being alone on the streets, I met Bankotsu." Only thinking about his lover brought a smile to his lips. "Ever since I met him years ago Bankotsu has been everything to me. He taught me how to make it on the streets, and how to love myself, and love him. We had a group of good friends, and we called ourselves the band of seven. _They_ are my only family now, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit I'd want to be in contact with my parents and my brother, I'd love to know how my parents are doing, or if my brother is married with five kids but it's not to happen."

After taking a pause Jakotsu added "You may claim not to want to know about that family you don't know, but we both know it's a lie. I mean Kagura it was all over your face how you really wanted to know more about that brother of yours. Who can blame you? Having a family, whether you're related by blood or not, is an essential thing. People like you and me, we don't like talking about our feelings, and we like acting tough and pretend we don't need anyone. When in truth we all need someone to lean on. I have my Bankotsu, but who do you have?" Jakotsu asked, cocking his head to the side.

On top of her earlier curiosity, Kagura now felt guilt. _'In a way it's true that I always wanted to know more about my mother, and any family besides Naraku. Jakotsu's right, I'm lucky enough to have my family actually want to know me. My… brother coming here could be an opportunity for me to get closer to the side of my family I have suppressed. I maybe even should give Sakura a chance to explain herself… a part of me can't help but wonder why she left me with Naraku. She must have known the kind of monster he is… I'm so confused; I'm not sure what to do.'_

"If it's okay with you, I'll take the morning off. I need time to think, and decide what to do." Kagura said taking a deep breath.

"Just don't take too long. That sexy brother of yours might not be willing to wait around for you to make up your damn mind." Jakotsu remarked as he fished out a card from the pocket of his fancy pair of designer jeans. His red lips displayed a proud smirk; he really thought he would have had a harder time getting Kagura to reconsider her positions when it came to her family. _'Then again I shouldn't have doubted… I have amazing powers of persuasion' _He thought smugly before adding _'Let's just hope she doesn't fuck up her chance at having the family she deserves…'_

"Thank you Jakotsu... for everything." She murmured as she took the business card with the name 'Byakuya Fujibayashi' engraved on it, and left the small class room. She had barely closed the door behind her that she saw none other than Bankotsu leaning against the wall in a deceptively casual posture.

"How's he doing there? Talking about his fucking parents always depresses him." He said, emotion causing his voice to come out gruffly. "He thinks I don't know, but I'm not stupid. I can tell when the man I love is suffering. It just pisses me off that I can't do anything about it." He answered the silent question in Kagura's eyes.

"I…" She started at a loss of words, a complete opposite to her usual self.

"I know that today's the day you usually leave Kanna at the Higurashi shrine, but if you don't mind I'd like to bring her here. Jak's come to love that little girl, and at least she can distract his mind. Unfortunately he doesn't have a class today, otherwise he would have been able to do something to clear his mind. You can come pick her up here any time you feel like you've done enough thinking, and if it's after hours, you know where we live."

"Sure that'd be fine. Kanna will be glad to. She does like spending time with her uncles Jakotsu and Bankotsu…" Kagura chuckled, eager to dissipate the sad look in her employer's blue eyes. She rejoiced internally when the use of the word 'uncles' did bring a brief smile to Bankotsu's lips.

"Thank you." He whispered before taking back his usual harder tone "Now get the hell out of here, and go do whatever you have to do. Oh and on your way out, place the 'closed' sign on the door. I need to go _comfort_ my Jak." He flicked his long braided mass of dark hair over his shoulder, and gave her a wink, letting her know exactly what the two of them were going to be doing while she was out.

"Ugh do whatever you want as long as you refrain from being all lovey-dovey in front of Kanna. I am not looking forward to having to discuss the birds and the bees with her just yet…" She smiled before throwing over her shoulder on her way out "Don't forget _you_ have a class in only an hour."

"No worries, that will be _plenty_ of time." Bankotsu chuckled as he entered the room where his beloved was.

As soon as Kagura pushed past the door of the center, she felt her earlier confidence evaporate. She was suddenly more than ever confused about her feelings, and what she should do.

_'I'm going to need to sort out my feelings, and what better place to do that than with Sesshoumaru's comforting presence?' _She told herself as she walked down the street. Without a second's hesitation, she started walking towards the bus stop, eager to ask her dog demon lover for his opinion.

As soon as the wind sorceress settled inside the bus, she felt a shiver of unease spread down her spine. For some unknown reason, she could not shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. _'Pfft what could be worse than discovering that I have a half brother who is my spitting image?' _She scoffed to herself, her crimson eyes looking at the scenery through the large window of the moving mass transit vehicle.

* * *

"_You've got a visitor boss." Kiriko popped her head through his office door. A frown on his face, Sesshoumaru placed the phone back on its cradle before addressing his employee "Send him in. Then call my lawyer, and tell him to come see me as soon as he can." He instructed, wondering who could have come visit him, and also already thinking about the possible steps to have Rin become a part of his expanding family._

_ "My dear son in-law it is such a pleasure to see you again." None other than Naraku said as he walked inside Sesshoumaru's office._

_ "How dare you come here?" The dog demon stood so fast that his chair fell back._

_ "Do not worry, I am merely here to make a deal. A very interesting one for the both of us…"_ Naraku stated as he walked inside Sesshoumaru's office, holding his head high. After speaking he turned towards Kiriko's shocked face, and ushered the demoness towards the door.

"Make sure no one disturbs us." He told her on the sexiest voice he could muster, coupled with a wink. He was shocked when his seduction did not seem to affect the dog demoness.

"Boss." She looked past Naraku to stare at Sesshoumaru.

"Leave us." He told his employee through clenched teeth.

"Just yell if you need anything." She stated before leaving, and closing the door behind her.

"Now that we are alone, dear son-in-law, it is time to conduct business." Without asking for Sesshoumaru's permission, the spider hanyou sat down in the chair facing the massive wooden desk. At seeing Naraku only inches away from the place where he and Kagura had made love only a few weeks ago disgusted and angered Sesshoumaru beyond words.

_'I will get rid of that offending spider hanyou once and for all.' _He vowed to himself.

"What do you want? And do stop calling this Sesshoumaru 'son-in-law'." Sesshoumaru picked up the fallen chair, and sat down, leaning forward, aiming to intimidate the half demon.

"Ah I have always liked this attitude of yours; going straight to the point."

"Speak." Sesshoumaru's order made the hanyou chuckle gently.

"Instead of speaking, I believe this would have a better effect on you." Without bothering to explain more, he pulled a wad of papers from the briefcase resting on his knees, and slid them on the desk in front of him.

Without wasting time, the dog demon snatched the papers, and brought them to his eyes. After scanning them quickly, he felt a growl of fury rise in his chest.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Ku ku ku Sesshoumaru, I was led to believe you were smart enough to figure it out by yourself." Naraku's red eyes gleamed as he watched the anger grow in the dog demon's face.

And figure it out, Sesshoumaru did. The papers Naraku had just handed him showed that the hanyou had purchased shares of his company from none other than Kichiro Kanzaki. More than the betrayal from his father's former ally, which he had come to expect, it was the fact that 10% of his company now belonged to the man he hated the most that made Sesshoumaru feel sick to his stomach.

_'Why of all people did that bastard of Kanzaki decide to sell his shares to Naraku… something tells me that Sousuke Yamashita has something to do with this… However now is not the time to think of this; I need to deal with Naraku for now. Then I will have a long overdue chat with Touran. She better have information for me to use as leverage.' _Glad to have made up his mind on the best course of action to take, Sesshoumaru looked up from the offending papers,

"This Sesshoumaru has no doubt that you plan on selling the shares back to me. How much do you want this time?" Even as he spoke the words, the dog demon's brain was thinking of a way to get rid of the half demon _again_.

"Hum I was thinking a million… I am aware you can afford it after all..." Naraku started, but the door of Sesshoumaru's office being slammed open interrupted him.

"Now please, for once do as asked. Mr. Takahashi said…" The worried voice of Kiriko was heard by the dog demon and spider hanyou.

"I don't care what he says, I _need_ to see him." None other than Kagura stated, as she walked past the young secretary. Even as she stepped past the door, Kagura felt the previous feeling of foreboding spread through her once again. She did not know why, but she had a feeling that she had to get to Sesshoumaru as fast as possible.

"Ugh never able to resist a pretty girl, what's wrong with you Kiriko?" The dog demoness berated herself, even as she walked away from her boss's office. Something told her there was going to be some drama coming, and the young secretary wanted to be nicely settled behind her door to be able to hear everything.

"Sesshoumaru…" Kagura whispered even as her eyes settled on the person seated across from her lover.

"What a surprise. Your father is so glad to see you. It has been _way _too long my dear daughter." Naraku grinned.

As soon as he spotted the horrified look on the face of the woman he loved, the ideas of revenge Sesshoumaru had been having were pushed to the back of his mind. Insuring Kagura's well being was more important to him than anything.

"Naraku" She spat the name, her anger and disgust plain in her voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't worry honey, just conducting a little bit of business with our dear Sesshoumaru here." The older spider hanyou explained.

"What kind of business?" Kagura's question was obviously directed at Sesshoumaru.

"Oh my dear daughter, nothing for you to worry your pretty head about. If you want, you can seat with us, and we could have a nice little family chat." The look of abject horror that crossed Kagura's face made him grin openly. "Besides you might not be aware of this, but Sesshoumaru and I are used to conducting business together."

"Save your breath. I know all about how you tried, and _failed_ to extort money from Sesshoumaru. He told me everything" Kagura's words surprised the half demon.

"Oh what a shock." Naraku opened his red eyes wide. He was sure Sesshoumaru would never have spoken about their agreement. "You mean that he told you about how he was willing to buy the list of your clients from me. He must have received some sort of sick enjoyment knowing with how many men you slept with before being with him…"

"You disgust me." The wind sorceress spit out. Sesshoumaru's eyes thinned in anger. He could easily tell that despite how tough she wanted to appear, Naraku's words had hurt Kagura badly; this was something he could not let happen without acting.

"It is not any of your concern, but you should know that Kagura is aware of how I feel about her." After stating this, Sesshoumaru stood up, and ignoring Naraku's smug expression, walked towards the entryway of his office where Kagura was still rooted in place. He placed his arm around her waist, silently offering her his support. Even if Kagura did not want Naraku to see how much she needed her lover's comforting presence, she could not help but lean again Sesshoumaru.

"Hum Kagura, do not tell me you believe his lies? I raised you better than that, didn't I? Then again you were stupid enough to let yourself get pregnant by the first idiot who knocked on your door. You have always been a weak woman to be played with by men." The man she had believed to be her father for most of her ife, said shaking his head in disbelief.

Just as Sesshoumaru was about to issue a sharp retort to defend his wind witch, she beat him to it.

"You are _so _wrong Naraku. I am strong. I had to be to survive being raised by the sick, twisted vile hanyou that you are." She could feel her anger rising at seeing the half demon smile at her insults. "Unlike you, who are unable to feel any emotion, Sesshoumaru loves me for who I am, just as I love him. He doesn't care about my past, and he doesn't give a fuck about whatever you might have to say about me. All the power you used to hold over me doesn't hold Naraku. I am not afraid of you anymore." She then stopped her tirade to take deep calming breaths; Naraku was after all not worth getting so angry over.

At hearing her words, Sesshoumaru gave her waist, a gentle squeezed, not relinquishing the hold he had on her. He was glad to see that the wind sorceress did not seem to harbor any doubts about his feelings towards her anymore, but what pleased him the most was that Kagura did not seem to need his protection as much as he thought.

"My my, it seems that my dear daughter has grown a backbone. What a shock." The hanyou snickered, ignoring Kagura's outburst.

"Do _not_ dare call me your daughter. I know the truth now. You are not my father." No matter how much Kagura had refused to believe Sakura Fujibayashi's words before, being able to throw in Naraku's face that he really did not hold any power over her made Kagura feel a sense of relief she had never experienced before.

"Hum it seems like that bitch of Sakura has finally talked to you. Dangling information about you over her nose so her husband would pay me had become tedious anyway." Naraku said, masking the fact that it had become harder to get money from said husband.

"Is this what you're trying to do with Sesshoumaru? Do you think I'll let you use him as a cash cow in exchange for information because of me?" The idea revolted her, and brought along a surge of power and rage she had never expected to feel. The same way that he had done for her, she wanted to protect Sesshoumaru.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Naraku sneered at the woman he had deceived for years.

"I'll destroy you." She hissed, crimson eyes shining. Despite how much Naraku had made her suffer throughout the years, this was the first time Kagura had dared confront him face to face.

'_The former me would have hidden behind Sesshoumaru, or would have plotted in silence waiting for Naraku to turn his back at me before attacking him, but not anymore. I am strong now, and he can't manipulate me like before. I will fucking get rid of him before I let that monster hurt someone else I love.' _The wind sorceress clenched her fists at her sides, fury and power coursing through her like never before.

Sesshoumaru was shocked by the sudden anger and strength Kagura was displaying. He was used to being the one who had to protect and defend her, like the time he had saved her from Naraku, and had taken her in so many months ago. Not to say that he was not pleased. _'I have always known Kagura to be strong; she just needed to believe it as well, which she finally seems to do.'_ Sesshoumaru thought to himself, a small smile finding its way on his lips.

The wind sorceress's threat brought on a broad smile to Naraku's lips. He was always one to take on a challenge.

_'It seems the little bitch has forgotten what I can do to her. Being under Sesshoumaru's protection has made her feel like she is out of my reach. No worries, I will show her how wrong she is…' _The hanyou thought to himself.

Sesshoumaru easily discerned the look of furry and evil intention in Naraku's red eyes. He knew the hanyou was up to no good, and had no intention to let him hurt Kagura.

"Enough! Leave us now Naraku. I will contact you later about the money." The dog demon reluctantly let go of the hold he had on the wind sorceress, and walked towards the hanyou. Once he reached Naraku's side, he took the half demon by the arm, and shoved him forward towards the door of his office. Kagura very happily stepped to the side to let the two walk past her.

Sesshoumaru's surprise at seeing Kiriko right behind his door was only manifested by a raised eyebrow. Not even bothering to scold her for eavesdropping, he pushed Naraku towards her and addressed hi employee "Make sure he is escorted out of the building. If you need to, do not hesitate to call security"

"Of course Mr. Takahashi." The dog demoness took Naraku by the elbow, and quickly walked away with him. The hanyou did not even have a chance to protest the demoness's rough handling that the two of them were out of sight. Unlike Sesshoumaru, Kiriko might not have inu taiyoukai for ancestors, but she was still extremely strong for a female dog demon.

After getting rid of Naraku, Sesshoumaru walked back into his office, where he knew a fuming wind sorceress was waiting for him.

"You have _so _much explaining to do." She told him, hands crossed over her chest.

"Naraku came to see me with an offer this Sesshoumaru is not in any position to refuse." He answered dryly; Kagura was not the only who was upset by the hanyou's surprise visit.

Seeing the incomprehension in her eyes, he quickly added. "He bought shares of the agency from Kichiro Kanzaki."

As the importance of what he had said settled inside her, she gasped. "What? Why? How is that even possible?" She struggled to make sense of what he had said.

"I believe Sousuke Yamashita also has something to do with it. The two just wanted a way to hurt both of us…" Thinking about how Yamashita and Kanzaki had been a source of pain for him for too long angered the dog demon; he knew he would have to do something to get rid of them, and sooner rather than later.

"Damn they sure as hell succeeded." Kagura sighed. "I guess you have no choice, but to pay off Naraku. I'm so sorry."

Noticing how guilt ridden Kagura appeared, he could not stand to let her suffer alone. "You have no reason to be." He walked towards the woman he loved, and took her hand in his.

"It will be alright I will get the shares back, then we will be rid of Naraku. In any case why is it you came to see me? I have a hard time believing that you came all the way her for no reason. Something tells me you didn't miss work at the center to ask me about your big move back into the penthouse either." He knew of Kagura's work ethics, and her missing a day was most unusual.

"Well let's just say I had quite an interesting visitor at work today as well…" She was interrupted by the sudden shrill of the dog demon's phone.

"Hold that thought." He bent over his desk, and took his phone from its cradle.

"Takahashi." He spoke. Not masking his displeasure at being interrupted. It was a rare occurrence for Kagura to come willingly to him for comfort and advice, and he intended to devote as much time as needed to her.

"Please forgive me master Takahashi. I would have returned your call sooner, but an important development has occurred!" None other than his lawyer, Myouga, squealed in his ear.

"If it is about Kanzaki selling his shares, you are too late, I already know, and I am working towards getting them back." Sesshoumaru growled. He would anyways rather have his lawyer work on his adoption of Rin than worry about getting the shares of the Takahashi agency back. Just because Naraku had decided to pop back into his life, didn't mean that he would have to put on hold his plans for his family.

"Oh no Master, you have no need to do that."

"What do you mean?" Sesshoumaru asked his lawyer.

"Kanzaki's sell was illegal, and all the shares go back to you."

**To be continued…**

A/N: _ Weird place to stop, I know. Anyways is Naraku's plan going to fail thanks to Myouga's findings? What will our fave couple do now that the 'bad guys' have made their move? We shall see next time in **Riposte**.

I hope many of you will be glad to know that I am thinking about writing a new installment in the 'Kagura's innocent question' universe. It will be a small funny fic involving a puppy. I'll try to post it sometime soon, but do not hold your breath waiting for it.

Thanks again for all the amazing support, and see you next time (whenever that might be…)!


	63. Riposte

_**Chapter 63: Riposte**_

A/N: Hello! I just started my senior year in college, and it's not going to be a piece of cake. Only the second week and some of my classes are already confusing me. In other words sorry dear readers, but I doubt I'll be able to increase my number of updates, at least not any time soon. We'll see as the semester progresses.

Thank you to my beloved reviewers

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor**

**Roguereader **(Your praise makes me blush. I had a feeling it was a little bit abrupt, but not too bad I hope. Hum Kagura's character will be something to delve into and Sesshy's too. They each have a good influence on each other.)

**XelaKitsune (x2) **(Good to see you're back)

**Kagura's number one fan **(Hum we shall see what Myouga's plan is, and if it can help Sesshy out)

Lots of love to **Dogsfang** as well for the nice PM.

_On _

**Zetsuii **(Ha ha you should know me well enough to know that this crisis was just the beginning of the drama. I have plenty more coming ku ku ku)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"_It will be alright I will get the shares back then, we will be rid of Naraku. Why is it you came to see me? I have a hard time believing that you came all the way her for no reason. You are supposed to be working at the center right now._

_ "Well let's just say I had quite an interesting visitor at the center today…" She was interrupted by the sudden shrill of the dog demon's phone._

_ "Hold that thought." He bent over his desk, and took his phone from its cradle._

_ "Takahashi." He spoke._

_ "Please forgive me master Takahashi. I would have returned your call sooner, but an important development has occurred!" None other than his lawyer, Myouga, squealed in his ear._

_ "If it is about Kanzaki selling his shares, you are too late, I already know, and I am working towards getting them back." Sesshoumaru growled. He would anyways rather have his lawyer work on his adoption of Rin than worry about getting the shares of the Takahashi agency back. Just because Naraku had decided to pop back into his life, didn't mean that he would have to put on hold his plans for his family._

_ "Oh no Master, you have no need to do that."_

_ "What do you mean?" Sesshoumaru asked his lawyer._

_ "Kanzaki's sell was illegal, and all the shares go back to you."_ Myouga paused, hoping to get some feedback from his employer. He had not expected Sesshoumaru to roar in joy, but a word of praise would have been welcomed. When it did not come, he added "Your illustrious father the great late Master Takahashi…"

"Get to the point." Sesshoumaru cut him. The ever present reverence the retainers and employees he had inherited from his father always showed for the late Takahashi never failed to get on Sesshoumaru's nerves.

"Well your great father had made plans for such an eventuality. If one of the original share holders wishes to sell, he or she will need to consult, and get the permission of either you or your brother, but Kanzaki did neither. Of course having the shares go to you and your brother will cause you to exceed the 45% of shares you are legally allowed to have, but you could always put them in the name of a trusted friend of yours, who would still give you free reign over the shares as you did not too long ago with Mr. Houshi." Myouga pointed out.

"I will think of someone... Go back to the issue." Sesshoumaru murmured even as his eyes rested on Kagura; a plan was hatching in his mind. He knew his girlfriend would not like it, but he would find a way to convince her, of that he was sure.

"By selling his shares, Kanzaki violated the agreement, and has therefore forfeited them."

Myouga's words brought a smile to Sesshoumaru's lips. "Did Kanzaki know of this clause my father made?"

"Well… his lawyer did." Myouga finally admitted feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

"Hum is your law firm not in charge of his affairs as well?" The dog demon asked his lawyer.

"Well it is my wife Shouga who is in charge of his files, not me." Myouga gulped. It was a well renowned fact that the old flea youkai was deathly afraid of his wife.

"It seems this Sesshoumaru is lucky that she is not as cowardly as you are, and is fiercely loyal to us Takahashi." The dog demon knew it had something to do with his father helping Shouga snag the ever reluctant Myouga as a husband.

"Oh now Master, you know how dedicated I am to you and your family. I would do any…"

"Silence. If you are so dedicated, work on the _project_ I have assigned you this morning." Sesshoumaru's words caused Myouga to let out a gasp of pure pleasure.

"Master Sesshoumaru, it would be my pleasure and honor to do so. When I heard your message, and was told that you were looking into adopting a child, it brought tears of happiness to my eyes. I promise to do…"

Without waiting for Myouga to finish his sentence, Sesshoumaru hung up the phone; having Jaken blabber about his greatness was enough.

"Why in the hell could you be smiling right now?" Kagura suspiciously eyed the upturned lips of her lover.

"Keh! He must have gotten Myouga's message." None other than Inuyasha stated as he strolled inside his brother's office, his clawed hands buried inside his pockets.

"What are you doing here little brother? Besides have you ever heard of a thing called knocking?" Sesshoumaru glared at his younger half sibling.

"I smelt something foul, and came to investigate." The hanyou stated, ignoring the glare Sesshoumaru was sending him.

_'It must have been Naraku he smelt…'_ Kagura snorted to herself.

"Since when do you have such a keen sense of smell?" Sesshoumaru mocked his brother, whose smelling abilities were inferior to his due to him being half human. Ever since their younger days, this had been a source of continuous teasing and argument between the two.

"Feh! My nose is fine enough to smell your fucking arrogance from across the hallway." Inuyasha stated with his trademark scowl on his face.

"Could you stop your stupid pissing contest for one second, and fill me in?" The exasperated wind sorceress sighed. Her words killed the retort Sesshoumaru was about to issue to his brother.

The hanyou snickered openly at how Kagura was able to control his brother so easily. _'Then again that wench of Kagome can do the same to me...' _He remarked thoughtfully to himself.

"Yeah well it seems that whoever that asshole of Kichiro Kanzaki was actually not supposed to sell shares of the company without my or Sesshy's consent, so the sale is void, and the shares go back to Sessh and me. Whoever bought them should get his money too I guess… A fucking waste of time." The hanyou crossed his arms over his chest.

'That's amazing news!" Kagura rejoiced, relief at the idea that Naraku would not be able to hold something over Sesshoumaru spreading through her.

"Yeah we'll still have to find someone's name to put on the shares. We already used Miroku last time, so that's out of the question. I was thinking of giving half to Kagome since we're going to be married and all… You can do whatever you want with the other half Sessh." The younger Takahashi remarked thoughtfully.

"What are you talking about?" Kagura asked, truly confused. Inuyasha was about to enlighten her, when with an almost imperceptible shake of the head Sesshoumaru interrupted him. The older demon was planning to explain everything to Kagura when the timing was right.

"Feh! You'll find out soon anyways."

"Why do I have the feeling you're hiding something from me?" This time Kagura turned to address her boyfriend when she spoke. The look of determination in her crimson eyes let him know she wanted an answer, and soon.

"Miroku reporting for duty. Wow everyone's here, how come _I_ wasn't invited to the party?" None other than the young human asked, faking a pout as he walked into the office of his boss and friend.

_'For once the lecher has impeccable timing.' _The dog demon thought, relieved. He was planning to tell Kagura all about his little plan, but he would need Myouga to start working on the paperwork beforehand.

"I asked you to stop by because I have an errand to run. Since Kagura is here, she might as well accompany me, Inuyasha can stay behind." Sesshoumaru walked over to his chair to retrieve his coat before walking back to stand next to his wind sorceress.

"Wow! You're taking your wench… I mean woman…" Inuyasha quickly corrected himself for fear of Kagura's wrath "to see _her_?"

"Indeed? What an interesting development… it's at times like these that I wish I were a small mouse so I could weasel inside a room, and watch the fireworks go off." Miroku sighed dejectedly.

"What are these two idiots talking about?" Kagura turned towards Sesshoumaru, curiosity plain in her gaze. Instead of explaining, he merely let out an exasperated sigh before speaking.

"I promise all will be clear soon. Until then, trust me."

"Kagura, if you want a good advice, remember that things aren't always what they seem." Inuyasha's remark made a sense of worry grow inside the wind sorceress.

"Do not worry. It will all be okay; simply ignore them." Sesshoumaru took her hand, and gave it a small reassuring squeeze.

"I'm not worried… I trust you. I'm just curious to see where we are going, that's all." Sesshoumaru was pleased beyond words not to see a nasty cloud of doubt in his beloved's bright red eyes.

"Good. The let us go." Without offering his brother and friend a farewell, the dog demon walked towards the door of his office. His progress was halted by Inuyasha.

"Wait a sec' I don't want your repulsive Jaken to call me _again_ about the arrangements. If you don't want to talk to him, which I understand, you could at least let him know what you want, so he'll stop calling me." Inuyasha said before the demon couple had a chance to leave the room.

Not needing to be told more, Sesshoumaru knew what his brother was alluding to. "If he calls tell him he can make arrangements similar to last year's. There is no reason to be fancy. On the other hand, do remember to bring your clothes to the cleaners this year before showing to the memorial." Sesshoumaru's last comment brought a scowl to his brother's face.

"A memorial?" Kagura could not help but gasp.

"Ah dear beautiful Kagura, did our boss forget to mention that it will soon be the anniversary of his illustrious father's passing? It is a family tradition to have family members and close friends gather for a memorial service; I am sure you are to be invited. After all I am convinced Sesshoumaru could use all the help and support he could get." Miroku quickly explained. His last sentence caused Sesshoumaru to send him a nasty glare.

"Oh dear. I believe I hear my phone ringing… it could be my fair Sango calling, so I better leave… see you guys soon." Without waiting for his boss to give him a reprimand, Miroku took it upon himself to quickly flee the office.

"Feh! What a damn coward." Inuyasha commented as he too left the room, meaning to let Sesshoumaru and his girlfriend a little bit of privacy.

"You don't need to start sweating bullets or whatever. I know you were going to tell me. There's been so much going on lately that I don't really see when you would have had the time to slide this info in, so I can't say I blame you for keeping silent. On the other hand, I wouldn't mid hearing more about your dad. He seems to have been quite a formidable man." Kagura could have cried at seeing the pain suddenly displayed on her boyfriend's face. He quickly put his indifferent mask back in place, but despite his best efforts, he was unable to fool her like before. Despite how stoic he wanted to appear, he was clearly hurting at the memory of his father's passing, and she could see right through him.

"That is an adjective that could be applied to him indeed." He murmured under his breath then after a pause added "What this Sesshoumaru would like to know is why you skipped work, and came to see me at the office today. Not that I mind." Without waiting for her answer, he walked out of his office.

_'It's no wonder Sessh is so willing to do anything to keep his agency; it is his father's legacy after all. He seems to miss his dad even if he won't talk about it. Maybe later I'll get him to open up…' _She thought to herself as she started walking, and did her best to keep up with his fast walking pace. She took pity on him, and accepted his sudden change of discussion topic.

"Well like I was saying earlier, I got a visitor at the center. My half brother Byakuya. And before you ask, no it does not seem like he was sent by our mother Sakura Fujibayashi to do her bidding." She was startled when Sesshoumaru suddenly stopped walking, and turned to face her. It was so unexpected that she almost crashed into him.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, his cold mask and previous disturbed expression gone and replaced by genuine concern.

"Yeah. I came to see you because I just needed a friendly presence to help me figure out what to do…" She said as she kept on walking towards the parking structure in search of a private place to speak. She did not like one bit to be ogled by the diverse employees of the Takahashi agency who happened to be in the hallway at the moment.

"Do you know what you want to do?" The dog demon asked her as he resumed walking as well.

"Actually… thanks to you, yes I do. I am going to call Byakuya and arrange a meeting with him and Sakura." Her statement made him almost gasp in surprise. He could still remember how upset she had been when she had first found out that Naraku was not her father.

_'After talking with Jakotsu I already had doubts about my closeted attitude towards the Fujibayashi family, but now I don't have any more doubts. Now I've just come to realize that unlike Sesshoumaru, whose father had passed away, I still have a chance to spend time with my family. I could get to know them, share family traditions and stuff… Not to mention that it would be good for Kanna to actually have family…And besides I've always wanted to know why my mother would have abandoned me with a despicable monster like Naraku.'_ The wind sorceress thought as she settled in the passenger seat of the dog demon's luxury car.

"I do not know how much help I have been, but I am glad to see you came to a decision." Sesshoumaru stated as he started his car.

"Sessh…" She paused unsure of how to phrase her question. "When I meet with them…"

"Of course I will come with you." He finished her thought then removed one of his clawed hands from the wheel to give one of Kagura's hands a firm squeeze. She smiled up at him, and the two of them stayed in contended silence until they reached their destination.

* * *

"_This_ is her? This is the woman you've been all crazy about?" Touran asked, wrinkling her nose in annoyance. Her light blue eyes had been trained on Kagura, for the past several minutes. She was actively trying to make the wind sorceress back down and cower under her cold blue gaze, but to no avail.

"Sorry to be such a source of disappointment." Kagura snickered as she laced her fingers with the ones of Sesshoumaru's hand that was closest to hers. The two of them were seating across from the beautiful panther demoness in an upscale bar.

Her simple tender gesture unnerved the other demoness, but what annoyed her beyond words was the fact that Sesshoumaru, who she knew hated public displays of affection, was letting Kagura openly touch and caress him.

"This is truly sickening. I hear that Inuyasha is getting married as well. You two are a far cry from what you used to be." The young demoness huffed, throwing in a graceful gesture some of her long blue hair over her shoulder.

"Touran. Instead of insulting my brother and me, you would do well to tell me about your findings." Sesshoumaru commented, his glare letting Touran know he would not stand to be mocked anymore.

As if a switch was suddenly flicked inside of the young demoness, she suddenly took on a more professional attitude. She swiftly fished a thick folder out of her large purse, and placed it in front of her employer. "I am sorry to have taken so long to get back to you, but here is compiled all the information I could gather on Naraku Onigumo's business. It may not seem like it at first glance, but it is quite a neat and organized operation he is running. I had quite a hard time finding people willing to betray him. Seems like his employees are quite loyal; the ones that are not are apparently disposed off. Unfortunately I was unable to find any tangible proof of that."

To prove her point, Touran opened the folder, and placed a few papers under Sesshoumaru's nose. He could feel a thin cruel smile appear on his lips at seeing the names of Yamashita and Kanzaki appear several times in the summary of the financial branch of Naraku's operation. However when he felt Kagura, whose hand was still firmly placed in his, shiver, Sesshoumaru turned towards her, and was surprised by how wide her crimson eyes were. While he was looking for a connection between Naraku, Kanzaki and Yamashita, in Touran's papers, Kagura's eyes were stuck on her own name in print.

"What is this? You had my past researched? How could you do that without telling me first? I told you all about what I used to do. I thought you trusted me." Kagura spat accusingly, her face suddenly pale, and tears of anger and frustration pooling in her crimson eyes. She quickly broke the hold, he had on her hand.

Kagura's crimson eyes moved from Sesshoumaru to the demoness seating across from them. She could feel her anger grow then. The wind sorceress really felt like slapping away the self-satisfied smile displayed on Touran's lips.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Wonder how Sesshy will get himself out of this one. Will he be able to use the information Touran gave him to get revenge on Naraku, Kichiro Kanzaki and Sousuke Yamashita? We shall see next time in **Family matters**.


	64. Counterattack

_**Chapter 64: Counterattack**_

A/N: Yes finally an update! I hope you will forgive me for my sporadic updating.

Thank you to my dear reviewers

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor**

**Roguereader **(Teehee it seems their spats are becoming shorter, no? We shall see how long this one will last lol.)

**XelaKitsune **

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

_As if a switch was suddenly flicked inside of the young demoness, she suddenly took on a more professional attitude. She swiftly fished a thick folder out of her large purse, and placed it in front of her employer. "I am sorry to have taken so long to get back to you, but here is compiled all the information I could gather on Naraku Onigumo's business. It may not seem like it at first glance, but it is quite a neat and organized operation he is running. I had quite a hard time finding people willing to betray him. Seems like his employees are quite loyal; the ones that are not are apparently disposed off. Unfortunately I was unable to find any tangible proof of that."_

_To prove her point, Touran opened the folder, and placed a few papers under Sesshoumaru's nose. He could feel a thin cruel smile appear on his lips at seeing the name of Yamashita and Kanzaki appear several times in the summary of the financial branch of Naraku's operation. However when he felt Kagura, whose hand was still firmly placed in his, shiver, Sesshoumaru turned towards her, and was surprised by how wide her crimson eyes were. While he was looking for a connection between Naraku, Kanzaki and Yamashita, in Touran's papers, Kagura's eyes were stuck on her own name in print._

_ "What is this? You had my past researched? How could you do that without telling me first? I told you all about what I used to do. I thought you trusted me." Kagura spat accusingly, her face suddenly pale, and tears of anger and frustration pooling in her crimson eyes. She quickly broke the hold, he had on her hand. _

_Kagura's crimson eyes moved from Sesshoumaru to the demoness seating across from them. She could feel her anger grow then. The wind sorceress really felt like slapping away the self-satisfied smile displayed on Touran's lips._

"Yeah yeah get over it, we _all _know about your past. A quite _colorful_ one it is. I must admit that from seeing you no one would ever be able to guess the kind of things you used to do…" Touran remarked, a small haughty smile on her lips.

"Touran." The tone of voice used by Sesshoumaru let his employee know that if she was to speak one more word, he would make her regret it.

"I see…" Kagura breathed out coldly, her mind still struggling to wrap around what had just transpired. "Well if you'll excuse me, I'll leave you two to your work." She let out through clenched teeth, her cheeks red in anger and embarrassment.

She stood up from the table as the last thing she wanted was to lose control, and start arguing with Sesshoumaru, or even better pounce on the other demoness since the prospect of beating up Touran was becoming more appealing by the second.

Sesshoumaru was surprised and worried by the sudden fury he could feel coming from his girlfriend. Not caring one bit about the audience made up of the patrons of the bar, he too took to his feet, and grabbed Kagura's arm before she could slip away from him one more time.

"Kagura it seems you are mistaken. I _do _trust you, and I did not have Touran research _your_ past, but rather Naraku's operation. It is unfortunate that you name came up."

When he noticed a little doubt enter the beloved crimson eyes of Kagura, he felt relief, and quickly added, eager to lay all her doubts to rest. "I had a suspicion Naraku was in league with Sousuke Yamashita and Kichiro Kanzaki, and his failed attempt at acquiring shares of my company has definitely confirmed all my suspicions. You know me; I would never set out to deliberately hurt you." He was aware how his actions might look, but he truly had never meant to anger the woman he loved, or even more to embarrass and hurt her.

'_Knowing Kagura, I should have anticipated such a thing happening. I should have known she would react this way, and I really should have explained the nature of our visit beforehand. Bringing her might have been a bad idea, for once maybe I should have listened to Inuyasha's advice'_ He cursed himself. Sesshoumaru knew that his younger brother's advice not to bring Kagura to his meeting with Touran was due to his past involvement with the panther demoness, but because of the special circumstances of his relationship with the wind youkai, it was still a piece of advice he wished he had listened to.

Sesshoumaru decided to cut his meeting short, lest his girlfriend became more upset; assuring Kagura's well being, and avoiding another argument with her was paramount on his mind. However before he got to say anything, Touran got involved.

"If you two lovebirds could refrain from fighting here, it would be much appreciated." The panther youkai huffed before adding, reluctance clear in her voice. "Fine I'll say it, I'm sorry Kagura. My earlier remark was… kind of mean and uncalled for I guess. I shouldn't have said that, after all based on what I've read on your father, things mustn't have been easy for you…"

"Was that an apology?" Kagura asked sourly, her eyes moving from Sesshoumaru to Touran. She really hated the fact that the woman across from her knew everything she had tried so hard to hide from the world for so long. It had taken all her love and trust in Sesshoumaru to admit her secrets to him, but to have a complete stranger, who also happened to have an eye on the dog demon know about her former occupation angered and sickened her.

"Hey, don't ask too much of me. In any case you don't have to like me for us to work together." The panther demoness remarked with a casual shrug of her shoulders. Her remark picked Kagura's attention, who put aside her anger, and showed surprise.

"Why in the hell would I want to work with _you_?" The wind sorceress did not bother hiding her open disgust at the idea. Her reaction caused Touran to dissolve in laughter.

"Shall I remind you we are supposed to get rid of that offending Naraku Onigumo? Based on the information I have gathered." Touran interrupted herself to tap a well manicured finger on the thick folder still splayed on the table. "I am sure no one would want to terminate your father's _operation_ more than you. Am I wrong Kagura? I may even have the perfect way for you to do so" Touran took a small sip of her drink, and waited for Kagura and Sesshoumaru to react.

The dog demon listened in silence, his amber eyes going back and forth between the two women. Just as he was about to ask Touran to expand on her idea, Kagura intervened.

"What do you mean?" Kagura asked. She was eager to hear more about the other woman's possible plan as the best way Kagura could think of making Naraku suffer would be shutting down his businesses. The prospects of not only ensuring that Naraku would never be able to use her to hurt Sesshoumaru, but also her need of revenge against the man she had thought to be her father could make her consider partnering up with the distasteful Touran. _'I would do anything to crush Naraku.' _Kagura thought to herself.

"Well I'd love to tell you more, but the two of you are attracting quite a crowd. What I plan to tell you deserves some privacy…" The panther demoness then took the time to refill her glass with the bottle placed on their table, and took a quick sip of the alcoholic beverage.

Instead of bothering to answer his employee, Sesshoumaru pushed Kagura back in her chair, before taking back his seat as well. He was glad to see that Kagura had not protested, but he knew that his beloved would not let him off the hook so easily.

"Explain." He then told his former lover.

"Well I happen to have a good, _very_ good friend at one of the major newspapers in the country. He would be delighted to report on a story involving such prominent and supposedly upstanding citizens as Kichiro Kanzaki and Sousuke Yamashita. I bet you didn't know that your father's former associate is quite well known for his charitable work." The distaste present in Touran's voice reminded Sesshoumaru of the fact that she revered his father, and could not stand having anyone tarnish his memory. This included former collaborators of him getting involved with monsters such as Naraku Onigumo.

"Moreover Yamashita and his wife are very good friends with some very powerful people in the government. In other words, the media would have a great time destroying them. Kanzaki and Yamashita would definitely stand to lose their privileged status as soon as people find out that they are involved with the financing of Naraku's illegal activities and his brothel." The panther demoness stopped talking, and took another sip of her drink.

"The fact that Kanzaki attempted to sell his shares to Naraku does prove they are involved. I still have the papers proving that on my desk." Sesshoumaru remarked thoughtfully.

"So _boss,_" Touran pronounced the last word on a mocking tone, causing Kagura to glare at her openly. _'Quite protective of Sesshoumaru, isn't she?' _ The panther youkai thought to herself before adding aloud "Based on your remark, I take it you want me to pass on the information to my friend from the newspaper?" Touran asked.

"No." Sesshoumaru's answer made both of the female demons look at him in surprise.

"What why not? I've done so much work, and research. You can't let my efforts go to waste. Not to mention that it is the perfect opportunity for you to get rid of your three enemies at the same time!" Touran pointed out. "If word gets out that Yamashita and Kanzaki are involved with Naraku, they will lose their privileged positions, and Naraku will lose their financial support. Moreover his clients, which happen to be prominent men themselves will stop dealing with him. This would surely ruin Naraku and destroy his operations!" The panther demoness exclaimed outrage clear in her voice.

"If we were to go public with this, Kagura's relationship to Naraku and his business would be revealed as well." This was the only explanation Sesshoumaru was willing to give.

"Oh I get it. You want to protect your girlfriend… Well if I were you, I wouldn't worry. Remember the CEO of Kiseki enterprises? He married a stripper he met in Las Vegas on a business trip. Sure people made fun of him, and shunned them for a little while, but they recovered, and everyone acknowledges them as a couple now. Plus the two of them are insanely happy together, and have been for nearly a decade." Touran retorted. She might not like Kagura, and she might be a little jealous to see Sesshoumaru so clearly in love with another woman when all he had been willing to give her was his body, and only for limited periods of time, but Touran was above all a professional. Not to mention that she was devoted to the Takahashi family. And if her job meant she had to do her best reassure Sesshoumaru, and protect his relationship, she would do it.

_'Sesshoumaru doesn't want to get revenge because of me? I shouldn't really be surprised. It would be embarrassing for him if people were to find out about my past.'_ Kagura thought, her heart aching, and her previous feeling of shame back in full force. She clenched her fists in frustration, and did not even wince when she felt her nails dig in the soft skin of her palms.

Sesshoumaru easily recognized the look of pain and disappointment on Kagura's face, and could not stand to see her hurting. "Do not misunderstand. I am not worried about my reputation. No one would dare say anything about this Sesshoumaru. However I see no reason to see Kagura suffer from my quest for revenge. Find another way Touran." Just as the words left the dog demon's lips, he snaked his hand over Kagura's, then gently relaxed her fist, to lace their fingers together; he wanted to reassure her about his feelings as much as he could.

His sudden declaration produced quite different reaction in the two women. Touran made faint gagging noises, clearly disgusted at seeing how the Sesshoumaru she knew and adored was wrapped around Kagura's little finger. The Sesshoumaru she knew was a ruthless man, who would do anything to get what it wanted.

_'It is truly sickening to see how she managed to change him in such a short period of time…. And if I were honest, I'd add that it's also quite impressive.' _Touran mused, her eyes resting on the younger demoness who had managed to make the almighty Sesshoumaru Takahashi fall to his knees.

On the other hand, when it came to the wind sorceress, she was slightly surprised by Sesshoumaru's words, but glad as well.

"I don't want that." Kagura suddenly exclaimed, moving her eyes from the gentle hold Sesshoumaru had on her hand, to look up into his brilliant amber gaze.

"I don't want to hide behind you forever, always worried about someone finding out about my secrets. If Touran's plan is our best chance to get rid of Naraku and his friends forever, then I think we should go for it. They will not let you be until you get revenge, and teach them a lesson; of that I am sure. Especially now that you thwarted their plan, and that Naraku does not have the shares of your company anymore… If we don't do something, they will." The wind sorceress declared, doing her best to sound confident and convincing.

"Kagura… you do realize what the consequences could entail. Naraku already warned me that if I ever attempted such a thing, he would make sure people would find out about your past… I just don't want you to suffer." He gently told her, trying to dissuade her. However he knew it was a lost cause when he noticed the resolve now burning in Kagura's eyes.

"Of course I do. Don't worry I'm not made of glass; I won't shatter the second I hear some rumor about me floating around. Besides I've known Naraku all my life, and if there's one thing I know it's that he cannot be trusted. At the moment he might already be telling people about his link to me, and if not then he'll try to blackmail you again." She did her best to look brave in front of him, even if inside she was downright terrified. She was now more than ever convinced of Sesshoumaru's feelings for her, but it did not prevent her past fears and insecurities to come back to the surface. She was not entirely sure if the dog demon would be so adamant in his love for her when he would become the butt of jokes about dating a former prostitute.

She felt a sense of panic overcome her, but squashed it down. _'I was right before. If we don't share the information with the media, Naraku will be sure to do it. It'd be better if we could decide when and how the information spreads; it will give us power. Besides Sesshoumaru said it himself, he isn't one to care about what other people think about him; that's something I really admire in him, and probably should emulate. We love each other too much to be broken apart by a few nasty rumors.'_ Comforted in her choice, Kagura sent a dazzling and reassuring smile to her boyfriend, who himself still had doubts about the plan Touran had came up with.

Only a few inches away, someone else was deep into thoughts.

'_Even if I hate to admit it, Kagura is right. Naraku, Yamashita and Kanzaki need to be taught a lesson, and unlike Sakura Fujibayashi's husband, I am not willing to be used by that bastard of Naraku as a personal ATM. I guess I will just have to do my best to protect her and Kanna. Although it seems the witch does not need my protection as much as before…' _ He thought bittersweetly, recalling how Kagura had stood up to Naraku to defend him.

"Fine you have heard what Kagura said. Proceed with your plan." The dog demon instructed his employees. "And Touran, this time do a better job at keeping me informed about the progression of your task." Without bidding the demoness farewell, Sesshoumaru stood up, and without relinquishing his hold on Kagura's hand gently lead her towards the exit of the bar.

The two of them had been walking in silence for a little while when Kagura suddenly said. "Sessh… I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have screamed at you, that was wrong of me. It's just that as soon as Naraku is involved I get crazy or something. I guess I couldn't bear the idea that you would want to know more about what he made me do, or even that you would tell someone else about my past… especially _her_ of all people.

I see the way she looks at you, as if you were a dessert fit for her taking, and it pisses me off." Kagura said, a deep frown now on her lovely face.

"I guess I am supposed to be flattered." He answered lightly. When he noticed his girlfriend was not amused, he quickly added "Apology accepted. Besides I owe you an apology as well."

"No you don't, I am the one…" Sesshoumaru quickly interrupted her with a shake of the head.

"I should have told you beforehand that I had Touran research Naraku, and his different businesses. I had honestly not thought about how it might hurt you." Her trained eyes easily noticed how he clenched his free fist in anger at the idea of the pain he had involuntarily caused her.

"Sesshoumaru, don't worry about it. It's really okay. As you said, I know you never meant to hurt me. Apology accepted." She smiled at him sweetly.

"Let us just go fetch Kanna, and go home. We could all use a day off." He suggested just as they reached his car in the parking lot. He was eager to place behind them their previous altercation. Even though to his surprise it had not ended in a full blown argument as it would have a few weeks ago.

'_I guess Kagura and I did mature enough in our feelings not to doubt our relationship the first chance we gat as we used to. We can even manage a conflict without breaking up.' _He thought a mix of happiness and relief spreading through him.

"I am quite tempted, but have you forgotten that I have class tonight?" Kagura smiled as she settled in the passenger seat of his car.

"Hum I will write you a note excusing you from class. You can give it to your instructor at the next class meeting." After a shrug of his shoulders, he started his car.

"What reason will you cite? 'Dear Pr. Kayano, Kagura could not make it to class tonight because I chained her in my bed, and thoroughly enjoyed her presence there. She was therefore too tired to make it to class'." Her teasing words brought a genuine smile to his lips.

"As appealing as the idea sounds, I was thinking of rather spending a quiet afternoon at home. We could stop at the video store to grab some insipid family friendly movie, then have some of Kanna's favorite Chinese food delivered." He suggested.

"That sounds wonderful. I guess skipping class for one evening wouldn't be too bad. Besides I am a college student, so I am entitled to be a little reckless." She laughed whole heartedly not only at her own joke, but also because she felt truly free in that moment. She was not only assured of Sesshoumaru's love for her, but she also had started fighting back against Naraku and the influence he had on her.

_'I will not let him hurt me or my loved ones anymore. It is time to fight back.'_ Kagura thought, resolve burning deep in her crimson eyes.

"Not to mention that we need to get you and Kanna settled back home." He remarked on a fake casual tone.

"You never give up, do you?" She chuckled gently before adding "Oh alright. I guess it wouldn't hurt to start packing. I must admit I find myself quite missing the bed of the penthouse…"

"Is it only the bed you miss?" He asked on a mocking tone, cocking an eyebrow.

"You horny dog." His teasing words brought about a big grin to Kagura's lips.

After her comment the two of them stayed in silence, happy and comforted in each other's presence. They knew that hard times were ahead of them, but for the time being, they decided to simply enjoy each other's presence as long as possible.

**To be continued…**

**A/N: **Next time we will get a little more insight into Sesshoumaru's feelings, and his relationship with his father. The chapter will be named **Family Matters**.


	65. Family matters

_**Chapter 65: Family matters**_

A/N: I am soooo sorry for being MIA. I've been having a crazy time with school, and had to undergo a very painful and annoying root canal. Ugh let's move on to happier things. The next chapter's here, and I am sure you are going to _love_ it :)

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor**

**I dont wanna pop up on search engines** (For some reason your name won't appear in one piece :( !)**  
**

**Roguereader **(We'll learn a lil' bit about Sesshy in this one, but not much. Next time we will find out about Kagura's messy family situation, and a little down the road we'll tackle Sesshy's heavy past and family)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

Sesshoumaru was settled on the large couch placed in the living room of his penthouse. The volume of the glowing television set in front of him was turned to its lowest in order not to wake up the pale haired toddler sleeping next to him with her head resting on his lap. He gently ran his claws through the soft strand, and let out a sigh of contentment.

He repressed the urge to curse under his breath when the shrill sound of the phone ringing threatened to wake up Kanna. He quickly reached for the nearby phone and answered, hoping the little girl would stay asleep.

"Sesshoumaru." He sighed in the receiver, not even bothering to mask his clear annoyance.

"Just the man I wanted to talk to." None other than Haruka said happily.

"What do you want?" Sesshoumaru whispered in answer. He would have stood up to take his phone call in another room, but he feared that moving would cause Kanna to wake up, and the last thing he wanted was to prevent her from resting. They had spent the entire afternoon at the park where she had happily ran around and played, and now the dog demon was determined to let her get her well deserved rest.

"I only called to announce to you great news. I talked to the family court judge earlier today, and it looks like that in only a few weeks you will be able to bring Rin home with you." The excited voice of the young director of the orphanage came to him.

_'Already?' _Sesshoumaru thought to himself in shock. As much as the idea of adding Rin to his expanding family was appealing, he still felt a little underprepared. "Things will happen this easily?"

"Oh come on don't sound so surprised. The Takahashi name carries quite a lot of power in this town. Besides, did I forget to mention that your father was a good acquaintance of the judge presiding over your case? You were lucky you had him, he was easily convinced that letting you adopt Rin was for the best." The young woman explained even as she deliberately did not mention the fact that she had spoken to the judge on behalf of Sesshoumaru several times.

"What about the other family that was interested in adopting her?" The dog demon questioned. He wanted to make sure everything was going to fall into place before getting used to the idea that Rin was indeed going to become a member of his family. He had known many disappointments in his life, and did not want to add one more to the list.

"Well…. About that… there never was another family. I made them up because I knew that unless I gave you a little nudge, you wouldn't do what you really wanted." She explained really hoping that Sesshoumaru would not be too mad.

"You lied to this Sesshoumaru to manipulate me?" He did his best not to roar in anger.

"I'm sorry, I only did what I thought would be best for Rin, and for you… I know you care about her, but I also know you wouldn't do anything about it until you realized your feelings, and what better way to do it but by making you feel worried and jealous. I know it may sound like a lame excuse, but I really only did what I thought was best." Haruka quickly explained as she nervously twirled a fiery strand of hair around her finger. She could only hope that the revelation of her ploy would not cost Rin the family she deserved to have.

"I see." He let out a deep breath before adding "Well it is of no matter now; things have already been put into motion. I will see you soon when I visit Rin." Without another word, the dog demon hung up, and placed the phone back on its cradle.

Despite how much he wanted to feel anger at Haruka's deception, he was glad for the consequences of her actions. The former him would have probably been enraged, and would have shown only scorn to Haruka for having manipulated him, but to his greatest shock, he was truly grateful to her.

His sudden shocking realization forced Sesshoumaru to reflect on his own feelings, and how ever since he had met Kagura, he had drastically changed. _'For the longest time I could not stand children. Only the thought of them disgusted me.'_ He paused, thinking back at how stupid he had thought his brother was for adopting Shippou, or how he had never even entertained the idea of interacting with his young nephew until only a couple of months ago.

The dog demon then took the time to resume gently caressing Kanna's hair before he thought further about his present situation._ 'However now that I have come to know Kanna and Rin… I adore them. I want them to be a part of my family, and I want to protect them… Not to mention that now I cannot help but want more children with Kagura.' _He then remembered how disappointed he had been a few weeks ago when he had found Kagura with a negative pregnancy test, even if for her benefit he had not voiced his disappointment.

'_In fact Kanna and Rin will need siblings and having a son…' _Sesshoumaru thought a grin suddenly plastered on his face. He could almost feel his chest expand in pride at the idea. He knew his love for _any_ of his children would not differ in intensity, and that he would do anything for any of them, but the male inu youkai that he was could not help but rejoice at the idea of having a son someday. _'This Sesshoumaru may be called vain, but a boy would be a good addition to the family. I do not want to be outnumbered by females after all…'_

"Aw did she fall asleep?" Kagura interrupted his thoughts as she walked inside the living room.

"Yes just a little while ago. I was about to go place her in her crib." Sesshoumaru answered his girlfriend. He noticed that her hair was unbound, and still damp from the shower she had just taken, and he wanted nothing more but to run his fingers through it. An advantage of Kagura moving back in with him was that he could make love to her whenever he wanted, and for the past few days, this was exactly what the two of them had been doing.

"Hum looks like I'll soon have to do something about this habit she's just developed." The wind sorceress commented with distaste. Her eyes were rived on her daughter, who seemed to have fallen asleep while sucking her thumb.

"It isn't as disastrous as you make it sound." Sesshoumaru scoffed. He actually thought that with the small finger lodged in her mouth Kanna looked quite cute.

"Yeah well I just don't want her to grow up with crooked teeth." She retorted.

"I'll go put her to bed, you can relax in the meantime." Careful not to awaken the toddler, Sesshoumaru stood up, and took Kanna in his arms. He headed towards the guest bedroom of his penthouse, and was not surprised to see Kagura following him.

_'Perfect, I actually have something I want to talk to her about.' _The dog demon thought to himself. "Kagura, when were you going to tell me Kanna's birthday is soon?"

"How did you find out… no need to answer I can guess that she told you." She smiled, her eyes resting on her child. "I would have told you sooner, but moving back in has been quite chaotic. I was actually planning on telling you tonight because I wanted to ask your permission to hold a little party at the penthouse.

"A party? I see no reason why not." He echoed surprised, yet pleased. After taking the time to place Kanna in her crib, and placing her under the covers he added. "You do realize you do not have to ask for my permission to do anything here. The penthouse is your home as well."

"Hum I knew you were going to say that." She smiled before giving him a brief hug accompanied with a kiss over his striped cheek. "Come on let's let her sleep." After leading her boyfriend out of the former guest bedroom, now Kanna's room, Kagura resumed speaking "It's not going to be a big thing: a few friends, a little bit of decorations, and of course a homemade cake; Kanna and I love baking."

"The pie you made me was quite tasty." He smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"It's a great compliment coming from someone who does not enjoy sweets." She grinned back at her. "By the way I should command you on your admirable handling of Kanna today. She told me you guys had a lot of fun at the park while I was at work, and from what I've seen you've become quite skilled with taking care of her. No one would guess you had never taken a toddler in your arms only a few months ago. If you ever get tired of the ad business, you can always reconvert in running a childcare." Just as the words left her mouth, Kagura could not help but dissolve in laughter.

"You have no reason to sound so surprised. Is there anything you have not seen this Sesshoumaru do well?" He asked cockily, a grin on his lips. Kagura's words had made him think back to his earlier reflection about children, and he had to admit that like her he was surprised that he had developed his childrearing skills so quickly.

"You are so full of it! Can't you take a simple compliment without blowing it out of proportion?" She asked him on a teasing note. Her words caused his smile to grow.

The two demons then settled together on the couch, Kagura snuggled in her lover's arms.

"I could stay like this all night." She sighed contentedly as he tightened even more the hold he had on her.

"We could, but there is something I wish to discuss with you." The sudden seriousness in his voice worried her.

"Well I never could've guessed you would be interested in helping me set up Kanna's birthday party. I've never been fond of blowing balloons, so this task can be taken care of by you. In fact your help will be much appreciated. By the way Kanna would love a new and bigger mirror as a gift." Kagura quickly blurted out, eager to dispel the sudden foreboding atmosphere.

"Kagura. I am being serious." He then reluctantly released her from his embrace, and turned her around. What he wanted to talk about was serious, and he felt they should be looking into each other's eyes when they did.

"The way in which we were able to prevent Naraku from acquiring shares of the agency made me realize one thing, which is that my father was prepared, and had anticipated his demise. He made sure that if something was to happen to him, Inuyasha and I would be fine, and I intend to do the same." The dog demon then reached for the bedside table, and fished out a manila envelope, and opened it.

His words caused a shiver of dread to run down her spine. "I am not sure I see what you are getting to." She murmured.

"If something was ever to befall me, I want to make sure that the people I leave behind will be taken care of." He said lightly. After all he had no intention of revealing to Kagura the feeling of foreboding gnawing at him

_ 'For some reason I cannot shake the feeling that something is going to happen soon. I do not know what or to who, but all I know is that I want to protect Kagura and Kanna as best as I can.' _ He thought, resolve burning inside him.

"Sesshoumaru…" She started, but he quickly interrupted her.

"All I need is for you to sign this paper. It will put the shares of the agency Naraku tried to acquire in Kanna's name. Considering that you are her legal guardian, they will be for you to manage until she turns 21." He explained as he extended a pen towards her.

"Wait." She pushed away his hand, and looked up in his eyes. "I don't understand, why would you do this?" She asked him.

"My reasons are actually double. When I took over the Takahashi agency after my father passed, I needed investors, so I sold shares of the company; I did not really have any choice in the matter." The way he clenched his fist, almost shattering the pen still in his hand, let Kagura how angry he still felt about what he had to do.

_'He probably feels like he let his father down… Oh Sessh why do you always have to be so hard on yourself?' _She wondered, hurting for the man she loved.

"Taking the advice of Kichiro Kanzaki, I foolishly made an agreement with my new share holders. I promised that Inuyasha and I would not own more than 45 percent of the agency. Due to that we did not have a majority, and had to consult the board before making choices for the company. Inuyasha and I used Miroku to buy shares, and now together we own the majority, but it is not enough. That is why I need people I can trust to hold on to the shares we took away from Naraku for me. All my allies will have to do is vote in my favor in board meetings, and cash in their dividend checks." He then relaxed, and let a small smile appear on his lips.

"The second reason why I want Kanna and therefore you too, to have shares of the agency is as I said before. If like my father, I was to meet an untimely end, I want to make sure Kanna and you will be fine. I have spoken to my lawyer Myouga to set up a trust fund for her as well. It will pay for her college education, and in that you have no choice."

"Don't talk like that." The idea of not having him by her side suddenly made her heart break. She gasped when he leaned forward to cradle her head in his hands, effectively raising her face towards his, and stared straight inside her crimson eyes.

"Kagura, what I am saying is serious. You will sign these papers because it is not only in Kanna's interest, but it will be helping me as well."

"Don't tell me what to do!" She turned her head, forcing him to break the hold he had of her. It was then that he noticed the fear and pain clear in her eyes, and decided to reassure her.

"Do not be mistaken I have no intent to die any time soon. I am simply making some provisions, that is all." He was surprised when Kagura enveloped him in a tight hug. Had he not been the great demon that he was, the force with which she had thrown herself at him would have toppled him backwards, and the two of them would have surely fallen of the couch.

"You scared me for a moment you know. I thought there was something wrong with you… I mean you did go see your doctor today." She said, holding on to him tighter.

"I promise to you that I am perfectly fine." He stated as he gently caressed the back of her head. "I only visited Suikotsu because I needed more of my tea. If something was wrong with me, I promise you that you would be the first to know." He smiled faintly. Seeing the love Kagura had for him never ceased to amaze him. "All I wanted was to make sure the people I care about would be taken care of _if _something was to happen to me."

"What about Rin then?" Kagura asked against the skin of his neck. She could feel her resolve crumbling; after all it was not often that Sesshoumaru asked for her help. _'Not to mention that he's right, as much as I hate the idea of it, his plan would make sure that Kanna would never have to suffer the same ways I did…'_

"Do not worry about her. I have made sure that she will never be lacking as well." Unfortunately I will have to wait until she is legally my daughter to give her shares of the agency…"

"Wait." She suddenly interrupted him at the same time as she broke their embrace, and stared up at him. She hesitated, and took a deep breath before speaking. "What would happen if we were to break up?" It was his turn to be angered, and it showed in the nasty glare he shot her.

"Do you have so little faith in us?" He retorted venomously.

"No of course not… I just…"

"Then is it me you doubt? Do you think that like your Shinichi I would be fickle in my feelings for you, and abandon you and Kanna?"

"You're being unfair! I never said that." She screamed back at him, tears of anger brimming in her eyes. It was as if Sesshoumaru had known exactly where to hit to hurt her the most.

"Forgive me. That indeed was unfair. What I aimed for you to see is that I have no intention of separating from you." To her surprised delight, he took her hand, and pressed a kiss to the inside of her palm.

"Me neither." She smiled up at him, glad to have avoided an argument with him.

"In fact I fully intend to make Kanna and you an _official_ part of my family." It was now he who was the one hesitating. After all he did not know how Kagura would take his sudden declaration. He took in a deep breath as he looked into her confused eyes. _'That may not have been how I intended to let her know about the future I envision for us, but now is as good a time as ever.' _

"I want to marry you, and to adopt Kanna as my own. I also wish for you to adopt Rin." His blunt declaration made Kagura let out a shaky breath. "Our lives wouldn't be different from what we have going on right now… we would simply live together as we do now… except that things would be a little more… hum.. official." He struggled to add, hoping to reduce the doubts he was sure she was having.

"Well I shouldn't say that this comes at quite a shock to me, but it does..." Kagura managed to mutter even as the one thing registering in her head was that the man she loved wanted to share his life with her. _'After Shin's betrayal, I never could have imagined I would ever want to get married… but the idea of spending my life with Sesshoumaru… to raise our children together.' _Mixed feelings of joy, excitement and happiness suddenly spread through her, causing a huge smile to appear on her lips.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" She exclaimed happily even as she lunged forward to press kisses all over her lover's face. She then reared back, and let out a chuckle as she noticed the unusual shock displayed on Sesshoumaru's face.

"Why do you look so surprised?" She asked him, slightly confused.

"If I were to be honest, I would admit that I thought you would need some… convincing before accepting to marry me." He answered her.

"Now who's doubting who?" She cocked an eyebrow in mock annoyance; she was too happy to let minor details put her down.

Instead of answering her, and start what he knew could result in an argument, he leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to her lips, which she eagerly returned.

"Kanna is going to be ecstatic. The day after we first got together, she asked me if she could call you 'daddy'." Kagura said tentatively.

He could easily tell that she was indirectly asking him if the little girl could do so, and if she could tell Kanna about the sudden evolution of their relationship.

"I always knew _our_ daughter is quite smart and instinctive. I am sure she must get that from you." His words made her realize that contrary to what she first thought, she was able to fall in love with him even more.

_'I don't know what I did to deserve him, but I won't question it anymore; I'll just enjoy it.'_ She thought happily.

"Sessh, if we are to be family, don't you think I should meet the rest of your family?" As hard as she tried not to worry about their future, she could not help but wonder how she would be welcomed inside his family.

'_Especially considering what is going to be appearing in the press about my past and links to Naraku soon…' _Only thinking about it was enough to make Kagura break into cold sweats; however, she decided to push her worries away. And deal with them later. She was much too happy to worry about them at the moment.

"You have met all my family…" He paused then snorted. "All the members that matter at least."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked this time her curiosity really picked. "I mean I know you dad passed, but when I said more of your family, I meant uncles, aunts, cousins… _mother_."

"As I must have mentioned before, my mother and I have a… difficult relationship. As we speak she must be blowing off the money I have sent her on shopping, or maybe looking for her next boytoy to sink her teeth in."

"How horrible!" She gasped. She knew Sesshoumaru enough to realize he was not usually so harsh when talking about people, so the vehemence present in his voice when talking about his mother surprised her.

"But true. Inuyasha is my only relative I actually enjoy associating with… but do not let him know I said that. Now let us close this discussion about my family. I do not like talking about them just as you dislike thinking about your own possible new found family members."

_ 'Besides there are much more pleasant ways to celebrate our engagement.' _He thought to himself, lusty images of Kagura and him sweaty and tangled in his bed sheets suddenly appearing in his mind.

"Well I want to arrange for a meeting with Sakura next week, so I guess you could say I am not running from them anymore… Now let's get back to your mother. You don't sound as if the two of you talk… don't you think you should at least let her know you got engaged, and that she's about to become the grandmother to two little girls?" Kagura asked him. She could tell he was annoyed, but she was only doing what she thought was best.

"Even if I told her, she would not care." He sighed.

"You don't know that for sure… I mean she is your mother and…"

"It is you who do not know!" He interrupted her. She was surprised by the anger she suddenly felt coming from him. "I am sorry… Only thinking about her angers me, but it is no reason to take it out on you." He apologized, a contrite look in his eyes.

"No I am sorry, it's obvious you don't want to talk about her, so let's just put that aside. I do have a question though… is she going to be at the memorial for your dad?" She asked referring to the event set to take place in a little over two weeks.

"Of course not. She would never bother with such a thing. Now let us ignore our messy family situations, and focus on us." He grinned as he reached to slip her tank top over her head, revealing her naked chest to his appreciative eyes.

"You are such a horny dog." She chuckled even as she allowed Sesshoumaru to push her back on the couch, and cover her body with his.

"Yes, but only for you." He stated before busying himself getting his fiancée out of her clothes in record time.

"Yes only mine…" Kagura answered happily. It was her last coherent thought as Sesshoumaru's talented lips made her forget about everything but him.

**To be continued…**

A/N: I hope the length of the chapter made up for the long gap in between updates. Hum a surprise marriage proposal? But will the wedding bells ring, or will Sesshoumaru's intuition prove to be true? We shall see. Next time Kagura finally confronts Sakura Fujibayashi, and Naraku has a plan? The chapter will be named **Filling in the blanks**.


	66. Filling in the blanks

Chapter 66: Filling in the blanks

A/N: Hi, remember me? Yep I'm the fanfic author who's so very ashamed for not updating sooner. Ugh let's just say I'm glad midterms are over. Now onto brighter things. Here's time for the long awaited explanation about Kagura's birth. Hope you're not disappointed.

Thanks to all of you guys for the support:

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor**

**DeathAngel69**

**AutumnroseHigurashi**

**Halloween265**

**Roguereader **(Yikes! Hum it seems I may have to enter a protection program by the end of this fic… after all who knows if it will indeed be a happy ending for all :P)

**New2fanfiction **(Thank you for the support. Wow 2 days; that's a lot of effort.

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"I cannot believe Haruka managed to trick me." Sesshoumaru thought aloud just as he started his car. Despite his acceptance of the situation, he still had a hard time getting over the young woman's deception.

"What are you muttering about now? Is something wrong with the adoption? I think I heard you mention Haruka." Kagura asked after she sat down next to her fiancé in his vehicle. The couple had just dropped Kanna to her soon to be uncle's house as they were going to go meet up with the Fujibayashis. As much as Kagura was eager to get answers about her past, and reconnect with her family, she would never hurt her daughter in the process. She had therefore thought it best not to let Kanna know about the upcoming 'family reunion.'

_'And in any case Kanna is too over the moon to care about anything other than Sesshoumaru and me getting married.' _The wind sorceress thought to herself, a smile on her lips. When she and Sesshoumaru had announcer to Kanna that they were going to get married, and that Sesshoumaru would be her father, and Rin her sister, the young demoness had been overjoyed.

"I found out not too long ago that Haruka lied to me. There was not another couple trying to adopt Rin, she just told me so because she wanted me to petition the court to adopt Rin." The dog demon sighed, feeling a frown appear between his brows.

"I don't see what the big deal is. She lied while trying to do the right thing… You did that to me too." Kagura scoffed. Her remark caused him to send her a glare.

"When exactly did this Sesshoumaru do that?" He asked, truly not able to recall.

"Well for starters there was the time you swore you had returned my sapphire gown, but you had not…"

"This was a surprise, not a manipulation." He interrupted her.

"Fine, what about the time I started working for you? You had all the employees dress in jeans to make me fit in." She pointed out smugly.

"You knew?" He did his best not to sound as astonished as he really was. The thing that truly surprised him was that Kagura had not said anything as soon as she had found out, and that she did not seem to be very upset by his deceit.

"Hari and Ruri told me after only a week; you know how they can't keep a secret." Kagura chuckled. "I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't tell you about it, right?... Well let's just say that in a slightly twisted way, I thought it was kind of cute. I mean you went through great lengths to make me feel comfortable at your work." She turned her head to smile sweetly at him.

"Although I am pleased, I must admit that was quite an unusual behavior coming from you." He smiled faintly at the idea that ever since then Kagura had appreciated his care for her so much.

"I'm not the only one who's being weird." Kagura said deciding to change the topic of their conversation. After all getting into an argument about something that had occurred so long ago was the last thing she wanted. "I mean, is it me, or was Kagome kind of cold to us today?" She reflected on the lack of usual cheerfulness in the young woman.

"I did not notice anything amiss."

"Feh! Surprising coming from you, who are usually so perceptive." She snorted.

"Do _not _adopt my brother's ridiculous way of speaking." He growled in annoyance. He knew that she was only doing so to irritate him, and to his exasperation it was actually working.

"Why so hostile towards _the only member of your family that has ever mattered to you_?" She smirked, paraphrasing the words with which Sesshoumaru had qualified his brother the night he had proposed to her.

"I knew I was going to pay for this one." The dog demon sighed. Kagura chuckled before blowing him a kiss, and adding:

"Don't worry honey, after this afternoon I am sure you will have plenty of ammo to fire back…" As much as she wanted to pretend that her upcoming meeting with her 'family' was not frightening her, Sesshoumaru, as usual, saw right through her.

"Whatever happens, my opinion of you will not change." He assured her just as he removed one of his hands from the wheel to rest it over her palm. She smiled faintly when he gave a reassuring squeeze to her hand with his.

"Glad to see you will always love me, even after you find out about my messed up past." She tried to laugh off her worry, but was not able to fool him.

"Kagura…"

"Well looks like we're here. You should be able to find parking in the alley on the right." She quickly interrupted him. She knew he was about to try to comfort her, but she did not want him too; the last thing she wanted was to break down in front of him before they even actually met her family.

"Very well." He muttered disappointed not to have her lean on him in this instance. _'Whether you realize it or not, you will learn to rely on me.'_ He vowed to himself as her parked his car.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to go through with it?" Sesshoumaru asked the woman walking next to him.

"Yes, I have to do it." Kagura answered. Her fiancé could easily tell she was faking bravado, so he did not hesitate to take her hand in his. She may have not wanted to appear weak in the eyes of the man she loved, but she was touched when he offered her support, and reluctantly took it.

He nodded in assent, and walked forward. He was taken by surprise when Kagura suddenly stopped merely two feet away from the door of the coffee shop where she was to meet with Sakura Fujibayashi.

"How very strange. I just realized that we had our start in a coffee shop as well… I don't really count the evening I went to your penthouse as Kaze…. It must be a good sign, right?" She turned to her side to ask Sesshoumaru.

"Kagura. If you are not willing to go through with this, do not feel forced to." He said in a last chance attempt to prevent her from what he knew would be a painful experience.

"Don't worry honey, it will all be alright." The wind sorceress released his hand, and pushed through the door of the establishment.

"Oh Kagura over here!" The young woman was not surprised to see none other than Sakura Fujibayashi waving excitedly at her from a secluded table in a dark corner at the back of the establishment. A very handsome older demon with long dark hair, and pale lavender eyes was seated next to her.

Following her invitation, Sesshoumaru and Kagura made their way to the table, and sat across from the demon couple.

"Well I would like to start off by expressing how glad I… I mean _we_ are that you accepted to come. I am sure it must have not been easy for you to accept our invitation…"

"Sakura, let's not bother with niceties. I am sure Kagura and her friend have come to find answers, which we are willing to finally provide. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Morio Fujibayashi, and I have the honor to be Sakura's husband. I believe you have met my eldest son Byakuya." The dark haired man seated next to Sakura said, a bright welcoming grin on his lips.

"Sesshoumaru Takahashi, Kagura's fiancé." Sesshoumaru offered in response. Hearing him revealing their relationship so openly truly surprised the wind sorceress, yet pleased her at the same time.

"Fiancé?" Sakura gasped before adding "Oh how wonderful. I am so glad for you Kagura. I was so afraid that Naraku would be able to take away from you any chance of happiness."

"Talking about that bastard, how exactly did I end up in his diligent care?" Kagura's sarcastic question caused Sakura's smile to fall.

"I see you really do not wish to waste any time." The older woman then paused to nervously run her tongue over her pale upper lip. Sensing the great distress coming from his wife, Morio took a hold of Sakura's hand before pressing a kiss over her whitened knuckles.

"Go on honey. You have been keeping everything in for too long." He then gently encouraged his wife.

After taking in a deep breath, the void demoness started her tale. "When I was eighteen years old, I ran away from home… let's just say that I tired of arguing with my step-father; especially when our arguments always ended up with me covered in bruises. While on the streets, I met up with Naraku. I was young, alone, impressionable, but mostly stupid." Only thinking about the spider hanyou made her shudder in disgust. She was slightly surprised when Morio ran a comforting hand along her back, helping her relax.

"Thank you honey." She added before continuing her explanation. "While I made odd jobs for him like delivering product to his clients, Naraku introduced me to drugs." Sakura then took another pause, and pondered for a few seconds before speaking. "I will be honest with you Kagura, and will not sugar coat anything. I became severely addicted to drugs… and not long afterwards I met your father… He was a regular client of Naraku, and I will not lie to you, and tell you we were madly in love… this was not the case. I cared for him deeply, but I do not think he returned my feelings in any way."

"So basically I am the product of two drug addicts, who needed a way to have some fun when they were high." Kagura snorted as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her bitter words pushed Sesshoumaru to send her an inquisitive glance. She knew that if she wanted he could have her out of the coffee shop in a matter of seconds. However she replied to his silent inquiry with a gentle shake of the head. She was here to get answers, and even if they might hurt, she would get all of them.

"No!" Sakura exclaimed and smacked her hand on the table at the same time. It was only because the coffee shop was empty at the time that the foursome did not attract more attention.

"Do not say that. Never say that. I love you. I've wanted, and loved you ever since I realized I was pregnant. As hard as it was I stayed off drugs during my entire pregnancy. I wanted to make sure you would be fine… and you were. You were the most perfect and beautiful baby girl." Only reminiscing about the first time she had held her daughter brought tears to Sakura's crimson eyes, the ones so similar to the young woman seated across from her.

"If you cared so much, then why did you leave me alone with Naraku?" Kagura asked trying to understand what had happened. Ever since her younger age Naraku had told her that her mother had abandoned her because she did not love her enough, being convinced otherwise would need a lot of work from Sakura.

"I had no other choice!" This time when she spoke, Sakura let go, and tears fell from her eyes.

"I believe this is when I come in." Morio smiled nicely. "When I first met your mother, she was a patient at a free clinic I volunteered with. I was a young doctor eager to help people. She… wasn't in a good shape when I came across her."

"What he means is that I ended up at the clinic after an almost deadly overdose. Naraku had brought me there because he did not want to have to deal with me. He proclaimed he would look after you until I was feeling better… Morio helped me clean up, and while doing so we fell in love." Sakura supplemented.

"As soon as Sakura told me about her daughter, I decided to help her try to get you back. Unfortunately Naraku had vanished, and by the time we managed to find him…" He paused to send a look at his wife, silently asking her how much she wanted to disclose to Kagura.

"He had told us he had given you up for adoption. We hired a private investigator to help us find you, but his search amounted to naught."

"Even after we got married, and that Byakuya was born, we kept looking for you. Sakura would never give up." Morio then interjected.

"I realize now that the reason why we couldn't find you was that Naraku had not only moved to another city, but had also changed your name." The older demoness reflected.

"Throughout the years we kept looking for you, but in vain. You must understand how it came at a complete surprise to us when that monster came back in our life several years later. By then our lives were very different. Morio was a successful surgeon, and me quite the accomplished housewife. Hakudoushi, our second son had also been born by then." Sakura took a pause before continuing. "Naraku started blackmailing us then. In exchange with providing us with the name and contact of the family that had supposedly adopted you, we paid him large sums of money."

"Except that he had not actually shipped me off to another family." Kagura said. For the first time since the beginning of the encounter, bitterness was absent from her voice. She was so stunned by the revelations that she felt numb inside, unable to register any other emotion but shock. For years she had tried to imagine what could have happened for her parents to decide to leave her, but never could she have imagined Naraku had played such an important role in keeping her away from her mother.

"To think that all this time you were so close… yet so far." Sakura said sadly as she fished inside her designer purse to retrieve a lace trimmed handkerchief to wipe her tears. "It was only a few months ago that Naraku finally gave us your new legal name, and that our private investigator was able to find you."

"I guess that's about the time you started popping everywhere in my life…" The wind sorceress snorted, causing Sakura to blush slightly.

"I just wanted to see you… I wanted to know if you were alright." Her mother explained her behavior.

"I trust your curiosity was satisfied." The wind sorceress said. The coldness present in her gaze broke Sakura's heart. She had played over their big reunion several times in her head over the years, and their present encounter was quickly shaping out to be what she deemed to be a total disaster.

"I understand your anger." Sakura said drying her tears. "You have every reason to be mad at me. I am the reason your life was ruined. Please forgive me, if I had been stronger I would have found you an adoptive family as soon as you were born."

"Sakura!" Morio gasped, shocked by his wife's words.

"I am being serious." Sakura persisted, turning to her side to face her husband. "If I had given her up, she would have grown up in a stable loving family, not with that psychotic bastard! If only I had not been this weak! I wanted to keep her for myself, to see her grow up, but all I ended up doing was hurting her."

The void demoness then turned to face Kagura before adding "It may be a lot, but I would like you to forgive me. I may have not been here for you all these years, but I would like to be now. You may doubt it, but I love you Kagura. You are my daughter, and I will always love you." As much as she ached to stretch her hand to touch the young woman seated across from her, Sakura dared not.

"I think it's time for us to go." To the surprise of everyone else, Kagura suddenly stood up and headed towards the door, Sesshoumaru faithfully following behind her in silence.

"Kagura wait!" Sakura exclaimed as she followed suit. When she had caught up to her daughter she asked "Do you think we could meet again? I know this must have been hard for you, but please give us a chance." Just as the words left her lips, Sakura opened her purse to get one of her visiting cards containing all her contact information, and with shaky hand and eyes filled with hope, extended it towards Kagura.

When his lover did not turn around to take the offered card, Sesshoumaru took pity on the hurting woman and took the card before placing it in his pocket.

"Let us go now." At hearing Sesshoumaru's words, the wind sorceress resumed walking.

Just as she was about to go through the door, Kagura turned around and faced her mother, looking straight into the crimson eyes, which mirrored hers perfectly. "What… What was the name you gave me when I was born?" She finally managed to ask.

"Jiyuu; it means freedom. I wanted you to be free in a way I had never been able to. I'm sorry for failing you." The older demoness answered. Then as something else occurred to her, Sakura added "If I am not mistaken, Kagura means dance of the gods. Naraku must have settled on it to slight me. Before I ended up on the streets, I wanted to be a dancer…"

Without offering a farewell Kagura went through the door, and headed towards Sesshoumaru's car. Just as the dog demon was about to follow her, he was interrupted by Sakura.

"I am glad she has you; you seem to be a responsible young man. If I had not met Morio, I probably would be dead by now. I can firsthand attest of the power love can have, and how it can help heal the deepest of hurts. I only hope that you will be able to help Kagura the way my husband was able to help me."

Sesshoumaru only offered her a response in the form of a nod before he rushed after the woman he loved.

* * *

Even though Kagura and Sesshoumaru had been settled inside his car for a few long minutes, the dog demon had yet to start the engine. The two of them had stayed in a deep silence for a long time when he suddenly decided to break it.

"How are you doing?" He asked, his softened golden eyes trained on his beloved.

"I'm confused." She murmured before adding louder. "When I agreed to meet her I was sure I would end up hating her after hearing her story. I want to hate her, I really do, but I can't." To her exasperation, the wind sorceress could suddenly feel warm tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I can't really blame her for what happened because it could have happened to me. If I had not left Naraku's house, if I had not met you, if we had not thwarted his many plans, who knows where I might have ended up in a few years? Would he have taken Kanna from me, and blackmailed me _for years_ in exchange for snippets of info on her whereabouts? I can't imagine the way Sakura must have felt… not to mention her insecurities. I wondered for a long time if I should have given Kanna up for adoption rather than forcing her to live with Naraku, but just like my mother I was weak. The idea of not having Kanna in my life was… and still is unbearable. I knew that living with Naraku was bad for her, but I couldn't part ways with her." She took out a tissue from her purse, and dried her cheeks, before blowing her nose in a completely unsexy fashion, yet Sesshoumaru had never wanted to hold her more in his arms.

He cursed the small environment they were in for there was nothing he wanted more at the moment than hugging Kagura to him tightly, and comfort her.

"Do not blame yourself. Naraku is the one who has caused pain on you and your daughter." He corrected her.

"Yeah, and that bastard is also the one who kept me away from my mother." She added, surprising herself by how easily she had accepted the fact that Sakura was indeed her mother, and that it was due to Naraku's machinations that they had been kept apart all these years. It had not even occurred to her to doubt the other woman's story.

_'The pain I saw in her eyes was too real for her to be lying.' _She thought to herself, hurting for the void demoness in return_. _

"I can't imagine what she has gone through. Despite everything, she never gave up on me. She did everything she could to find me, and get me back. What else can I do but forgive her, and hate Naraku even more?" Kagura thought aloud. If ever she needed one more reason to hate the hanyou, and be glad that she had agreed to Touran's plan to get revenge on him, her mother had just provided her with one.

"So you know what you have to do." A relieved Sesshoumaru asked her just as he retrieved from his pocket the card Sakura had given him.

With a sigh Kagura took the card, and on her cell phone quickly dialed the number written on it. After only a few seconds the person on the other end of the line answered.

"I want us to meet again."

It was only after Kagura had spoken the words that Sesshoumaru started his car, and headed towards his brother's apartment to pick up Kanna.

* * *

Naraku was seated at his usual table in the bar of the Yuki tower. His bright red eyes scanned the area, his anger growing at seeing how empty the place was.

'_Ever since Sesshoumaru got involved with Kagura, my business has suffered. That arrogant bastard has done everything in his power to hurt my business, and he has succeeded.' _Naraku thought angrily, quickly downing the glass of whiskey placed in front of him.

"You wanted to see me Naraku-sama?" One of his newest girls asked as she approached him, shaking in fear. Even though she had just started working for the hanyou, she had quickly found out to fear his temperamental nature, and his crushing blows.

Naraku smirked as seeing her blatant fear. There was nothing he enjoyed more than seeing the terror written on people's faces when they faced him. At least that made him feel a little better.

"Have you had any clients tonight?" He asked his employee.

"I am very sorry Naraku-sama, but no." She whispered, ready to take a step back in case he would strike her again. Despite her best efforts, the young woman had not been able to entertain as many patrons as the other girls, and for this she had been severely punished by Naraku several times.

"I see. Well, I am in need of a distraction, and you will provide it." He growled before refilling his glass, and downing it in the same motion. "Go to your room. I will meet you there in a few minutes."

"Yes master." She lowered her tear filled gaze, before leaving to get prepared for the night ahead of her. She easily recognized the anger in Naraku's eyes, and knew that she was going to be the one he would take it out on.

"Kagura. Sesshoumaru. As promised I will soon make you pay." The hanyou smirked as his eyes lowered to the picture of a small daycare establishment placed in front of him.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Will Kagura be able to form a real relationship with her new found family? And what is Naraku planning? We will see later on. In the next chapter Sesshoumaru and Kagura will be growing closer, and we will also see some IY/Kagome. The chapter will be named **Trusting embrace. **I don't know when I'll update next, but I'll try not to make you guys wait too long. To help tide you over, I can reveal that the next chapter will be very lemony. See you next time!


	67. Trusting embrace

_**Chapter 67: Trusting embrace**_

A/N: Hello dear faithful readers. Sorry for the long wait. I hope you will enjoy this chapter, and forgive me for my sporadic updating these past few months (not that it's going to be getting any better :( so sorry!)

On a brighter note **Major ****LEMON ALERT!** It will be in the first half of the chapter. You have been warned!

Thanks to all of you guys for the support:

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor**

**DeathAngel69**

**Roguereader **(I'm glad to see you found the developments realistic, that was one thing I worried about)

Thanks to **Dogsfang **for the nice PM.

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"Gods I thought this conversation was never going to end. My mother is such a talker. I was telling her about our shopping excursion today, and she wanted to know everything about it. Down to a detailed description of the black dresses we got for Kanna and Rin for your father's memorial." Kagura sighed as she walked into the bedroom she and Sesshoumaru shared.

The dog demon was settled under the covers, reading over a document his secretary had faxed him only a few minutes ago. Despite Kagura's complaint he could easily see through her, and tell that she was pleased with the discussion she had had with Sakura. Ever since the afternoon they had talked to her and Morio, the older void demoness had faithfully called every evening Kagura did not have class. The two of them talked for long stretches of time, but Sesshoumaru had not asked his fiancée the topic of their long discussions as he recognized their need for privacy. He was just glad to see that every time she hung up the phone, Kagura had a bright smile on her lips. Seeing her happy was enough for him.

"My ear is still ringing from all her laughing." Kagura chuckled as she joined her lover on the bed. As soon as she was close enough for him to touch, the dog demon put aside his document, and reached for her.

"What a pity since they are quite pretty ears." He murmured before giving one of the said pointy appendages a light nip. Since when Sakura had called her to chat, Kagura was about to slip into bed, Sesshoumaru's roaming lips were not perturbed by the large earrings the wind sorceress usually wore.

"My my you have been the perfect boyfriend today. You picked up Kanna at her daycare while I was in class…"

"As of late you have been busy with work and school even more than usual. Besides the place is not far from my office." He shrugged, referring to the day care facility Kanna had just started attending two weeks before. Due to Kagura having to study for her final exams on top of working at both the young mother center and the restaurant, the dog demon had been the one to drop off and pick up Kanna. Not that he minded, he would never get enough of the little girl proudly calling him 'daddy' when he bid her farewell as he dropped her in the careful hands of the day care employees, or when she greeted him happily when he fetched her in the evening.

"Just a coincidence, which worked out quite well. I wanted some place cheap, and not too far from my jobs. I did not plan for it to be this close to your office, I enrolled Kanna before we actually even got back together. After all I couldn't have Mrs. Higurashi or Jakotsu and Bankotsu babysit her every day; they do have things to do." Kagura moaned when Sesshoumaru placed kisses near her neck.

"They may be busy, but you are just as well." Sesshoumaru gently reminded her.

"Ah now even more compliments? Must mean you're trying to get me into bed." She chuckled before tilting her head to the side, silently encouraging Sesshoumaru to kiss down her neck, a gentle gesture she never failed to appreciate; however, to her disappointment he did not.

"This Sesshoumaru does not only offer compliment when I want to... paraphrasing your words want to get you into bed." He told her, moving away from her.

"I never said I would mind; I personally am very much looking forward to getting you into bed with me." She smiled at him before working on getting the buttons of his white silk pajama top undone. As soon as the pale skin of his chest was revealed, she pressed kisses over his chest, paying attention to gently nibble on his nipple.

As much as he liked having her pleasure him, he liked being the one doing the pleasing better. He therefore stopped her when her fingers delved lower to undo his pants.

"You never let me have any fun with you." She complained when he pushed her down on the bed, and started undressing her. The small pout she put forth was quickly wiped away when he ran a gentle hand over her curves, a clear promise of the many pleasures to come.

In a flick of his fingers, he had gotten rid of her hair tie, and had her long dark locks tumble down and fanning around her head offering a nice contrast with the white comforter of their bed.

"This is how this Sesshoumaru would define fun." The words were barely out of his mouth, that he took her night gown off, and threw it over his head. He then bent forward to feast on her skin revealed to his adoring gaze.

After pressing a quick kiss to her lips, Sesshoumaru lowered his mouth to one of her two mounds, alternating between sucking and biting the tender tip.

"Hum Sessh, this feels really good, but before we get too carried away, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." He ignored her words, and simply switched breasts, bringing his sweet torture to the other mound.

"Sesshou…maru." She tried protesting once more, but his only response was to leave a wet trail on her skin as he kissed and licked his way down her body towards the one place he was aching to be.

He gently pried her legs opened, and with a flick of his sharp claws left her underwear in tatters. He aimed to kiss his way up from her right knee to the juncture of her thighs before tasting her; however, just as he reached the top of her thighs, and gently ran his lips over the soft sensitive skin, Kagura stopped him.

"Wait Sessh!" She gasped before gently tugging at a strand of silver hair forcing the dog demon to raise his head, and look away from one of his favorite parts of her anatomy.

"Witch. What is it?" He asked, trying not to sound as frustrated as he was, as he sat up next to her. The temptation of her naked body was however too much for him to ignore, and he gently reached to toy with one of her breasts, causing her to let out a small gasp of pleasure.

"No touching right now." She said reluctantly slapping his hand away from her skin. Noticing the incomprehension written on his face, she took a deep breath, and started talking.

"There's something I have to tell you."

"This Sesshoumaru is listening." If she had not been nervous about the question she was about to ask, she would have been laughing at the exasperation clear on his face.

"Well… it isn't the easiest thing to talk about…" Her uncomfortable admission scared Sesshoumaru. Kagura was very outspoken, and seeing her worried about talking to him about something unnerved him in return.

"What are you referring to?"

_'Maybe I shouldn't talk about this with him… yep that was a bad idea from the start.' _She thought to herself, letting a sigh escape her lips.

She then ran her tongue over her suddenly dry lips before speaking. "You know what. Never mind maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all." She muttered.

'_What is the matter with her tonight? Whatever is bugging her must be serious enough for her to interrupt our love making, so why is she just not telling me already?' _He wondered getting more exasperated by the minute.

"We have come this far. Just say it." When she remained silent, and looked at him with unsure eyes, he added "Come on out with it!"

"I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to hold back!" She let out before biting her lip in frustration; this was not how she wanted to express her feelings.

"What are you talking about?" He asked once more, annoyed with himself for not finding anything else to say.

"Sesshoumaru I won't break you know, so… don't be afraid to use a little more… strength when you're with me." She finally spoke the words she had wanted to for so long.

"I am not sure I get what you mean." He frowned.

She let out a sigh before going further. "What I mean is that ever since you found out that I used to… about my past employment, it seems that things have been… hum… different between us… in bed."

"You do not enjoy our love making?" He gasped, reeling back as if she had just slapped him in the face. The tone in which he asked the question let her know he was hurt and surprised.

_'Oh now he is going to make that about his manly pride.'_ She thought almost rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"No I do, I swear. I love you, and I love the way you make love to me" She interrupted herself to press a quick kiss to his unexpecting lips.

"It's just that sometimes I'd like it if you were less soft with me. I am a demoness, and I am strong, so you don't have to hold off." She reduced the distance between them, and gently cradled his cheek in the palm of her hand, her thumb tracing the youkai markings on his skin.

"Ever since we started being intimate, I noticed that you've always been very careful with me, and since I told you what I used to do when I worked for Naraku, you've been _too_ gentle with me. I am not a porcelain doll, and I won't break. I can tell you are doing your best to hold back, but I want you to be able to let go, and be the _real_ you when you are with me." She explained gently. Of course she would never mention to him the fact that her past employment had put her in contact with several sorts of demons, and she therefore firsthand knew how taxing it could be for a male youkai to always be in control and careful as Sesshoumaru always was with her.

'_I know it's because he loves me that Sesshoumaru is trying to be careful, but I want him to be able to enjoy himself when he's with me. I only want him to be happy as well.' _She thought trying to reassure herself that admitting her concerns to her lover was indeed the right thing to do.

"Kagura…" He started, but was unable to go one further. He was suddenly surprised at his reaction to her words. Something inside of him, something he often ignored since he was a rational, cool and controlled demon, roared.

Ever since his first encounter with a woman, the dog demon had always been careful to be gentle. The words of caution his father had given him when he had been an untried youth were still ringing clear in his mind. They were descendants of great Taiyoukai, and as such possessed more strength than the average demon. For this reason when explaining the 'birds and the bees' his father had made Sesshoumaru promise to _never_ lose control lest he hurt the woman he was with.

"Don't be afraid, you won't hurt me." Kagura's whisper broke through his mind. She then pressed forward and gave him a passionate kiss. His arms wound around her small frame, and crushed their chests together, each reveling in the feel and warmth of the other's skin.

'_Then again father was married to a human at the time. Kagura must be right. There shouldn't be any harm if I were to let go for just one night.' _He wondered as he lowered his gaze to the woman he loved.

He shuddered in pleasure when she snaked her hand in between their bodies, and slipped it inside his silky soft pajama bottoms, to grasp and gently caress his length.

"I'm just checking if you are ready for me." She grinned before reaching up to press her lips to his in a loving kiss. As soon as they broke apart for some much needed air, she wasted no time divesting him of the rest of his clothing, and throwing it away to meet the rest of their discarded garments on the floor of their room.

She was not surprised when Sesshoumaru suddenly took charge, and positioned her on her hands and knees in front of him, after all she had given him free reign over her body for the night, and this despite her insistence, was one position they had yet to explore.

_'Probably because Sesshoumaru was worried about hurting me, or some other nonsense.' _She sighed to herself.

The dog demon gently inserted two fingers inside tight channel, and gently massaged her, making sure to prepare her for taking him.

"Sesshoumaru, stop toying with me." She writhed on the bed, her arms folding under her weight. The pleasure she was feeling was too much for her to be able to hold herself up. Her words spurring him on, the dog demon started moving his digits faster, causing Kagura to bury her face in the covers, letting them muffle the loud moans she wanted to let out. The wind sorceress gasped loudly when he used a third finger to trace the jewel nestled at the top of her womanhood.

"I am just checking if you are ready for me my love." He chuckled when she readied herself to protest against his use of her own words against her.

_'However the witch is right. There is no sense in wasting more time.' _He thought as he slowly removed his fingers from her, and positioned himself behind her. As he slid his length inside her, he placed his large hands on each side of her hips, getting ready for his thrusting. They both let out sounds of deep pleasure when he was fully sheathed; he had never been this deep inside her.

Noticing that her lover had yet to start moving, which she was sure was for her benefit Kagura started rocking back and forth. She smiled to herself when she felt him pick up the movement.

Sesshoumaru started moving slowly, removing one inch of himself, then burying his length back in her eager body. His fluid movements however quickly accelerated

Suddenly the dog demon felt a warm feeling spread throughout his body. His vision turned slightly red, and he could feel the youkai marking on his cheeks, forehead and wrists expand. He realized he was close to losing control to his inner demon, an incident that had never occurred before.

He lowered his gaze, and eyed the white column of Kagura's neck; there was nothing he wanted more than to bury his fangs at the base of her neck. He wanted to mark her as his own, to let the entire world know that they belonged to each other, and that nothing could be able to break them apart. The only thing holding him back was that despite how far gone he was, he knew that the marking of mates was nowadays frowned upon as it was considered to be an out of fashion and slightly barbaric practice.

"Sesshoumaru…" Kagura moaned gently as she grasped the bed covers in a tight fist. She tried her best to hold on for the wild ride of Sesshoumaru thrusting even faster inside her. Hearing his name leave her lips made him increase his pace, and he tightened his hold on her hips, aiming not to let her slip out of his grasp.

The change in pace was enough to bring her over the edge. Instead of burying her nails in the skin of his back as she usually did when she climaxed, she had to contend herself with tearing the soft white comforter of their bed.

It was only after he saw that she had reached bliss that the dog demon decided to let himself go. He gave one final deep thrust before emptying his seed deep inside her tight channel.

Once the dog demon came back from the pleasure high, he blinked his eyes a couple of times, causing them to turn back to their familiar amber eyes. As his heart slowed down, he also felt his youkai markings slowly recede to their original size.

When he fully came back to himself, he looked down at the wide expanse of Kagura's white skin, and gasped in shock at what he saw.

"Kagura" He asked cautiously, fear at the idea of hurting the woman he loved gripping his chest. _'I never should have lost control like this.'_

His concern grew when he did not get any response from the wind sorceress, whose head was still smashed against the bed covers. He was surprised when he heard a faint chuckle. Once Kagura turned her head to the side to look at him, he was surprised to see she was laughing out loud.

"That was amazing! I loved every second of it." She smiled before making a small wiggling motion, causing a ripple a pleasure to go through him as they were still connected.

"Are you sure you are alright?" He winced when he eyed the faint bruises present on her hips due to how strongly he had held on to her with his hands. He was only glad to see that he had at least been careful enough not to bury his claws in her delicate skin.

"Of course!" She chuckled as she leaned forward, reluctantly letting him slip out of her before turning around to face him. She then stood on her knees, and pressed kisses over his lips and face. "These are nothing; they'll heal in a matter of minutes, and you know it." The light shinning in her eyes let him know that she had not lied to him.

His sudden realization made the dog demon let out a sigh of pure relief. Seeing that Kagura was able to handle him, but also his inner demon made him feel even closer to her.

She ran a hand over her bruised hips before adding "I'm feeling great, but I'll feel even better if you focused on getting your strength back _old man_. I want you again."

"Old man?" He echoed in a strangled voice.

"Hum-uh it's been taking you longer to recuperate." She snickered, running her hands over the perspiration slick skin of his chest.

"Witch." He warned her before pushing her back on the mattress, and covering her body with his.

"Hum that is more like it." She moaned appreciatively when he settled himself between her legs.

'_I am so grateful to have found a woman able to fit me so perfectly.' _He thought as he leaned his head down to press a kiss to her lips, his long silver hair falling all around her. The dog demon was truly surprised to see how Kagura did fit him in ways no other woman had before. Before meeting the wind sorceress he had had his share of relationships, but he had never felt the kind of emotions Kagura awakened inside of him. She fulfilled him in every ways possible, and there was now no doubt in his mind that the two of them belonged together.

'_Never will I allow the witch to leave my side again.' _He silently vowed, forcing himself to shake off the feeling of worry that had been gnawing at him for weeks now. He tightened his hold on Kagura even as his mind went towards these negative thoughts again.

Just as the two demon were about to resume their love making, the doorbell rang loudly.

"Damn what a lack of timing." Kagura sighed as she pushed Sesshoumaru off of her, and reached on the plush carpet for the first piece of clothing she encountered, which turned out to be Sesshoumaru's pajama top. She put on the white silk garment, which was long enough to pass as a robe on her, and stepped off the bed. "You can stay here, and I'll deal with whoever's at the door. I better make it quick; I don't want Kanna to wake up."

The words were barely out of her mouth that she rushed towards the front door of the penthouse.

"What is it?" The wind sorceress snapped after she undid the locks and opened the door. Kagura then let out a gasp of shock when she saw that the person on the other side of the door was none other than Kagome. Kagome, who had tears streaming down her face, and who was letting out pitiful sobs.

"Kagome?" Kagura said as she opened the door wider, and stepped aside, silently asking the other young woman to come in.

"Did something finally happen to that idiot of Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru's deep voice asked as the dog demon walked towards the two women. His hair might be messy, and he might have only taken the time to only slip on his pajamas bottoms since Kagura had 'borrowed' his top, but the dog demon looked as regal as always.

Hearing the name of her fiancé only made Kagome's sobs increase. Heaving a sigh, Kagura took her friend by the hand, and led her towards the living room, promptly settling her on the couch with a box of tissues.

"Sessh, either make yourself useful and make some tea or something, or go wait for me in the room." She said with a wink, silently promising him that she would dispatch Kagome as quickly as possible so that they could resume what they had been doing before the young human's interruption.

"This Sesshoumaru is not interested in female tears." He threw over his shoulder as he followed Kagura's advice, and went to their bedroom. The wind sorceress smiled faintly at his hasty departure. She knew him well enough to know that her fiancé was great at comforting 'crying females' as he had done it for her on several occasions. But she also knew that just like she had, Sesshoumaru must have picked up on the fact that Kagome would be more prone to talking about whatever had her upset if Sesshoumaru was not in the room.

After the two of them stayed quiet for a long time, with only Kagome's occasional sniffles breaking the silence, Kagura decided to speak.

"So there must be a reason why you knocked on our door at two in the morning. Now that Sesshoumaru is gone, care to share it?" She asked her friend.

After taking the time to wipe her teary eyes and leaky nose, Kagome started speaking. "I'm looking for some advice... I just don't know what to do, and I'm too afraid to ask Mama for her help."

_'For Kagome to be this worried, it must be something serious.' _Kagura thought worriedly. "You're scaring me, so just tell me what's wrong before I start imagining a thousand possible things."

"I'm pregnant." Letting the words out caused an onslaught of fresh tears to come out of the young woman's dark eyes.

"Oh that's it? For God's sake Kagome, I thought you were in serious life or death trouble." Kagura sighed in pure relief.

"Don't take this so lightly!" Kagome relinquished the wet mass of tissues she had been clutching in her hand to take hold of her friend's delicate palm. "Inuyasha is going to be furious... he might even call off the wedding altogether!"

"Don't be so dramatic. I mean, last time I checked, it took two to make a baby." Kagura remarked dryly.

"You don't understand... I tricked him. Well... I didn't mean to, but I did..."

Kagura's curiosity being picked she asked her friend "Why do you mean by that?"

"Well remember that time you asked us to babysit Kanna a couple of weeks ago?"

"Yes of course." Kagura replied, knowing she was referring to the time Kagura had asked them to watch over her daughter so that she could go meet Sakura Fujibayashi and her husband at the cafe. _'Guess I'll finally find out why Kagome was being so unusually unwelcoming." _The wind sorceress thought to herself.

"Well I wasn't feeling very well. I had a stomach flu."

"Let me guess, you were brave enough to try some of your fiancé's cooking, and he made you something other than ramen..." She ventured, remembering how during their gateway at the beach house, she had felt utterly sick when she had dared to try some of Inuyasha's cooking.

At Kagura's correct guess, Kagome could not help but blush lightly. Her fiancé may have many qualities and talents, but cooking was not one of them.

"He wanted to try a fish stew recipe on he saw on TV. He knows I like this dish, so he tried making it for me... let's just say my stomach didn't really agree with his culinary talents... Anyways I got really sick, and the only explanation I have for this..." Kagome took the time to rub a hand over her flat stomach before continuing "is that I must have thrown up my pill. I mean I've always been careful, so that's the only way. I didn't even know that missing a pill or two would have such a consequence…"

Kagura stared at her friend in silence for a long time, trying to decide on the best course of action to take.

"Kagome, be honest with me. Aren't you happy?"

The younger female was surprised by the sudden question. "Well Mama won't be happy, she wanted me to wait a little longer, and Inuyasha will..."

"I didn't ask about them, I asked you if _you_ were happy." Kagura pointed out.

Suddenly a bright smile appeared on the young human's face. "Ever since I found out from my doctor this afternoon, I've been trying to picture a cute silver haired baby with furry doggie ears, and it makes my heart melt. In spite of everything I am so happy."

"Then that's all that matters. If I had listened to everyone around me, I wouldn't have Kanna with me right now, but I did whatever I wanted, and it turned out for the best." Kagura smiled back at her friend. "Besides let's be realistic here, Inuyasha may be an idiotic jerk sometimes, but he wants to marry you, and he loves you. And for some reason, you love him too; therefore, I can guarantee you he'll be thrilled to know he has a little one on the way. Shippou will be glad to have a sibling to play with as well."

"Do you really think so?" The young human female asked in search of reassurance.

"Yep. So why don't you dry your tears, and go home. Inuyasha must be worried sick by now." At Kagura's words Kagome took a wad of tissues and wiped the last of her tears.

"You're right. I don't know what stupid sense of panic came over me... I'm sorry for coming over this late." Just as Kagome stood up from the couch, a loud pounding on the front door resonated through the house.

"Who is it now?" Kagura asked rolling her eyes in annoyance even as she moved to open the door. To her surprise, an irate Sesshoumaru beat her to it.

"Let me get it." He growled as he yanked the door open.

"Where's the wench?" None other than the younger Takahashi brother asked.

"Inuyasha? What are you doing here?" Kagome left the living room to join the other three.

"Feh! Shouldn't I be the one asking that? You told me you were going to the shrine to see your mom. Imagine my surprise when I didn't find you there. "

"Don't shout at me! I needed time to think by myself!" She retorted angrily.

"Yeah well next time you need some _alone time,_ think about the people who care about you! Hana is so worried she has been calling you for hours, but your phone was on voicemail." The hanyou pointed out.

"Oh no! I forgot the battery of my phone died…" The young human murmured.

"Feh! As clumsy as usual... seriously, who doesn't charge their phone?" Inuyasha grumbled before adding aloud "So let's hear it. What could have made you decide you needed to run away from home?" The sarcastic expression on his face made Kagome feel angry beyond words.

"I'm pregnant you idiot!" Kagome's angry words caused Inuyasha to take a step back in shock.

"I'm so sorry, that's not how I wanted you to find out…" Kagome started, feeling miserable. She looked away from him when she believed she saw a note of pain and disappointment in his shiny eyes.

"Why are you apologizing?" He asked, his voice suddenly hoarse.

"I…" Kagome started, unable to finish answering.

"She thought you would dump her if you found out about the baby." Kagura supplied. Inuyasha turned in her direction, shock clear on his face as if he had just noticed she and his brother were here.

"Kagome, is that true?" He asked the woman he loved. She answered with a small nod.

"Keh! You stupid wench. What kind of man do you take me for?" He asked clearly hurt to see she would doubt him so. "I'd never do that… I love you, so you having my kid makes me happy. I'll take care of the two of you, and with Shippou, we'll make one hell of a family."

"Oh Inuyasha, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you... I was just..." Too chocked up by emotion, she stopped talking.

"Oh hell. It won't be that bad, I promise I'll make you and the baby happy… Kagome don't cry... please. You know I hate to see you sad." Inuyasha said, his ears drooping. He was at a sudden loss when it came to what to do.

"You baka, I'm not crying because I'm sad. I'm crying because I'm so happy." She suddenly jumped forward, towards him, it was only his natural hanyou reflexes that allowed him to catch her in time, lest the two of them went tumbling down on Sesshoumaru's carpet.

"I love you. I love you. I love you!" Kagome chanted as she pressed kisses all over his face.

"Aw aren't they cute?" Kagura asked Sesshoumaru as she gently nudged him with her arm. His answer came in the form of a scowl.

"If you two need a place to make out, please refrain from doing so in my home, and in front of this Sesshoumaru. Now get out!" Sesshoumaru remarked dryly. It was one thing for Kagome to come ask Kagura for advice in the middle of the night, but quite another to have his brother, and future sister in law kissing in his entry way.

"Yeah yeah, we're leaving. I guess we can pick up Shippou at the shrine tomorrow, and enjoy some alone time tonight, the same way these two must have been doing when you interrupted them. No wonder you're so grouchy Sesshy." Inuyasha snickered, amused by his brother's annoyance.

Kagome's cheeks burned a bright shade of red. Because of Inuyasha's words, she suddenly realized what she had interrupted. Earlier she had been too upset to realize that Kagura was obviously wearing one of Sesshoumaru's pajama tops, and that she had not even taken the time to properly button it. Her eyes then travelled to the dog demon, who was now wearing a robe, but she recalled seeing him half naked when she had seen him earlier.

"I am so sorry. We're going to leave right now." A mortified Kagome murmured before taking a hold of her fiancé's arm and dragging him with her to the door.

"Well that was a quick exit. Why did you have to glower at them like that?"

"This Sesshoumaru wanted to be rid of them, so I could be alone with you."

"Really?" Kagura chuckled, her eyes brightened by desire. "And to do what exactly?"

She squealed happily when the dog demon scooped her in his arms, and carried her over to their bedroom.

"Do not worry, I will be sure to show you." He chuckled in response as he gently laid her on their soft bed.

**To be continued…**

A/N: I hope you guys didn't mind the idea of Sesshy going demon on Kagura. I just wanted to show they truly belonged together… Next time it will be the long awaited memorial service in honor of Sesshy's father. We will see how that will go in the next chapter named **Welcome to the family**. We might even find out more about Naraku's plan, and encounter a few new characters…


	68. Welcome to the family

_**Chapter 68: Welcome to the family**_

A/N: Hi…. Still remember me? I am SO sorry to have left you guys hanging like this for so long. It may have taken me a long time to come up with this chapter, but it's going to be a good one.

Thanks to all of you guys for the great reviews and support:

**Syzhale [Belated birthday wishes to my fave spell checker!]**

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor**

**Halloween265**

**Roguereader **(Thank you for your frank words. To be honest it isn't for the readers' benefit, but rather my own squeamishness that I didn't make his transformation more graphic. I agree that a true Inu youkai mating would be a little more gore… but I guess I just didn't have it in me. So sorry if you were disappointed.)

**New2fanfiction **(Glad to see you're indeed back. Oh I will be sure to fulfill your request of arguments between the two members of our fave couple)

**A-NASTYsian **(Always nice to have a new reviewer. I don't hate Kikyou, but don't often include her in my stories because I just can't seem to find a place for her ha ha)

**Ultimate Otaku27** (Aw thanks. I do my best to please my readers. )

Thanks to **Dogsfang **for the nice PM.

_On :_

**Anime-rocks-1010** (So nice to hear from you again! No worries you will be able to experience many more cliffys :P)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

Sesshoumaru, Kagura, Rin and Kanna were all seated in the dog demon's black luxury car. They were on their way to the Imperial hotel where the memorial service for Sesshoumaru's father would be held.

"Are we going swimming again?" Rin's hopeful voice came from the backseat. She was referring to the afternoon Sesshoumaru and Kagura had taken the two girls to the Imperial to go swimming.

At that time, Rin had been so excited to spend the afternoon with her new family that she had made sure to pay special attention to the route they had taken. She therefore easily recognized where they were going.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you honey. We are going to the same hotel, but not for the same reason." Kagura turned her head to the side, to look at the two little girls; Rin seated behind Sesshoumaru, and Kanna strapped in her car seat behind her mother.

Even as she spoke Kagura paid attention to have the pearl necklace Sesshoumaru had given her stay in place. The first reason was that it was the same precious family heirloom he had given to her the night they had gone to the gala so many months ago. The second reason was that the necklace was a convenient way to hide the red welts present on the tender skin on her neck. To her great pleasure ever since Sesshoumaru had stopped reigning in his inner demon when sleeping with her, his fangs had a greater tendency to roam her skin. In fact their early morning sex had ended up with him nipping at her neck a little harder than he had intended, leaving marks on her skin.

_'Not that I mind that much… seeing Sessh lose control because of me is an amazing feeling.' _The wind sorceress thought to herself even as she felt a blush develop on her cheeks.

"We are going to a party. That's why we're wearing dresses." Kanna remarked calmly. Despite her pouting, her mother had still forced her to wear a black dress, making Kanna annoyed; she only liked wearing white.

'_But since Sesshoumaru and mommy asked, I guess I can wear this ugly color just for today.' _Kanna thought even as he small hands reached down to tug at the hem of her black dress. When not a while ago the four members of the newly founded family had purchased the said dress, Kanna has not thought too much of it; however, having to wear it for a full day was a different set of affairs.

"A party? Really? Mommy is that where we're going?" Rin asked, her eyes shining in anticipation. Earlier when the demon couple had picked her up at the orphanage, and that Kagura had helped her dress into a black dress before they had left, Rin had been too excited at the prospect of spending time with her family to ask about where they were going.

Kagura took the time to smile to herself before answering as she was still getting used to the idea of having a second daughter. The judge had yet to grant her and Sesshoumaru full custody of Rin, but according to his lawyer it was a matter of weeks before they would be able to take their other little girl home.

"Well Rin-chan, it's not really a party… it's a memorial service to honor Sesshoumaru's father." The wind sorceress explained. She knew that it would probably not be the funniest place for the two girls to be, so she wanted them to be ready and aware of what was going to happen.

"What does honor mean?" This time Rin's question was addressed to Sesshoumaru. During their exchange the dog demon had stayed unusually silent.

"It means that my father is dead, and that for some reason people find it necessary to have a party every year for the occasion." He commented dryly.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kagura gasped, her voice laden with reprimand.

"Your daddy is dead?..." As soon as the words escaped Rin's lips, she felt her lips wobble, and tears brim in her brown eyes. She opened her mouth to say more then instead let a sob out before sniffling. She knew all too well about the pain of losing a parent, and the idea of her new found father having to go through this pain made her hurt in return.

_'Ugh why can't that man be a little more compassionate when talking to a kid…' _Kagura took the time to glare at her fiancé before turning to the side to stare at Rin's tear filled eyes.

"There's no need to cry Rin-chan. It happened a long time ago, and Sesshoumaru isn't sad… so you shouldn't be…" Kagura said doing her best to muster a smile.

Kagura's failed attempt at comforting her only made Rin sob harder. During this time Kanna observed the exchange in silence. For a reason she could not comprehend seeing Rin cry made her sad in turn. No matter how much the pale child had tried to hate her new 'sister,' Rin had managed to work past Kanna's strong defenses with her infectious smile and gentleness.

The young void demoness was startled when she felt something warm trailing down her cheek, she reached for it with her finger, and was shocked to see it came back wet.

"Mommy…" It was now Kanna's turn to start sobbing, she was not sure why, but she could not stop crying.

"Kanna, Rin, girls… please don't cry…" Knowing that her words would not get through to the little girls, Kagura averted her gaze from them to the dog demon seated next to her. "Sesshoumaru, can you pull over?" She asked after letting out a deep sigh.

Instead of answering, he briefly looked at the two sobbing girls through his rearview mirror, then made a quick left turn to enter the large parking lot in front of a shopping center.

As soon as the car came to a halt, Kagura wasted no time to leave her seat and open the rear door. She removed Kanna from her car seat and placed her daughter on her lap before undoing Rin's seat belt and circling the little girl's shoulders with her arm.

"Aw girls, there's really no need for you guys to be upset. Everything is going to be okay." The wind sorceress pressed a kiss on Kanna's light hair, then next to Rin's pigtail. Her comforting words and tender hands managed to get through to the girls and helped calm them down a bit.

It was then that Sesshoumaru decided to intervene. At first he was too unsure about how to handle the little girls' tears, but he could not stand seeing the ones he cared for, and had promised to protect be in pain. He had to try to fix the situation.

'_I guess it comes with the territory of being a father…'_ He thought reflecting on his new found role. Unlike Kagura, instead of exiting the car, he simply turned around in his seat to look at both Kanna and Rin.

"There is no need for your tears. This Sesshoumaru is doing fine." He said. He was sure that the reason why the two girls were upset was for his benefit, and it made him love them even more. He after all was not used to having people care for him that much.

"You're not sad?" Rin asked through her sniffles.

"No." He answered. "As Kagura explained before, my father's passing occurred a long time… before either of you two were born for that matter, and I am not sad." The dog demon then took the time to give the two girls a small reassuring smile.

He was relieved when Rin and Kanna responded with smiles of their own. One more kiss from Kagura for each of them, accompanied with her gently wiping the tears off their faces, and the two children were ready to get back on the road.

"Hum who knew you could be so good at consoling; I guess you will be in charge of this from now on." Kagura smiled at her boyfriend.

"I have only acquired such a skill after meeting you." He replied evenly.

"Aw is that a covert way of saying 'I love you'?" She asked him, a grin on her face.

"Fishing for compliments is unbecoming." He grinned back before starting his car and driving off.

* * *

"Feh! It was about time you guys got here." Inuyasha grumbled when to his relief, he finally spied his brother. He impatiently tugged at the collar of his tight shirt, doing his best to loosen it as much as possible without having to undo the tie Kagome had put on him a few hours ago.

"Didn't you say you'd stop complaining?…" None other than Kagome chuckled as she gently removed Inuyasha's clawed hand from his collar, earning a sharp glare from her fiancé in the process. His scowl turned into an adoring smile when she pressed a tender peck on his cheek.

"We were slightly delayed on the way over. In any case I am sure we have not missed a lot…" Sesshoumaru responded. He truly hated the ridiculous family tradition that dictated they had to honor his late father on a yearly basis. Had he not respected him, he would have gotten rid of the practice altogether.

_'It is just an excuse for the vultures to try to get access to me and my wallet. Not to mention that they never cared about father. All they want is to lament over his loss while eating and drinking at my cost.' _Sesshoumaru thought to himself as he scanned the room with his sharp amber gaze.

"Well Rin-chan, Kanna-chan, what do you say I take you to Shippou? We settled him with the other kids in the room next door. You can eat there, and I heard they have toys too." Kagome smiled gently at the two little girls before addressing her friend. "Don't worry Kagura, members of the hotel staff will be watching over them. Besides this is a secure place, it's not like someone could snatch them away." The young human chuckled.

The two little girls sent their mother a pleading glance. The last thing they wanted was to be the only children present in the opulent reception room filled with unknown adults.

"Of course you guys can go." Kagura answered. She was barely done talking that her friend had whisked the two little girls away, Inuyasha following closely behind them.

"Hum he is so much more protective of her now that he knows she's pregnant." Kagura commented on her future brother in law's behavior.

"As he should. My brother may be an idiot, but even he knows what he has to do." Sesshoumaru commented as he snatched two champagne flutes from a tray carried by a nearby waiter. He extended one to the grateful wind sorceress.

The two of them sipped their drink in silence for a while, not even thinking about trying to socialize. A younger dog demon tried to approach the couple, but a sharp glare from Sesshoumaru made him reconsider.

_'These damn vultures should be aware that this Sesshoumaru would not let them get close to me.' _He thought, a deep scowl on his face.

"Why do I have the feeling everyone is looking at me?" Kagura suddenly broke their contented silence as she self-consciously readjusted the feathers she had plucked inside her usual bun. In order not to disrespect the memory of Sesshoumaru's father, she had replaced her usual white feathers with two black ones that matched her dress. When the dog demon had noticed the change, he had scoffed claiming the event was not worth her efforts. Even though he was trying to hide it, she could tell he had been pleased by her gesture.

Sesshoumaru had early on also noticed that for some unknown reason the guests inside the reception room were indeed staring at Kagura.

_'It is probably due to the fact that it is the first time I have brought along a female friend to this boring yearly event. Not to mention that I also have Kanna and Rin with me. This is sure to raise a few questions…' _He thought to himself. Ever since the death of his father, and the instituting of a yearly celebration in his memory, Sesshoumaru had always made sure to never bring a 'girlfriend' with him. Kagura was the first exception to this rule. He figured that there was no need for his fiancée to learn about that, so he tried to distract her.

"They are probably looking for a distraction for the boring speeches about the glory of my father that are sure to come. You might not be aware of it wind witch, but you offer a most delectable distraction." The husky tone in which he had spoken let her know exactly the kind of distraction that was on his mind.

"Sesshoumaru Takahashi!" Kagura gasped before adding "How can you think about that at such a time?" The telling sweet blush on her cheeks let him know that despite her outburst she was glad to know of his train of thought.

"If you had known my father and his love of women, you would not be offended…" The dog demon shrugged.

"I am sure you were thinking about me when you said that last bit, did you not?" A soft female voice asked from behind the two demons. The couple turned around, and was greeted by a large smile displayed on the lips of an older human woman.

"Izayoi? What are you doing here?" Sesshoumaru asked truly surprised.

"Is that a way to greet your mother?" The dark haired woman asked on a mocking tone, a faint crease appearing between her brows.

"Mother?" It was now Kagura's turn to gasp.

"Step mother." She admitted. "I am his father's second wife, and Inuyasha's mother. My name is Izayoi Takahashi, it is a pleasure to meet you…" She trailed off extending a friendly hand towards the wind sorceress, who quickly took a hold of it and shook it.

"Kagura. My name is Kagura Onigumo, and I am…"

"My fiancée" Sesshoumaru interrupted her; the fierce gleam in his eyes defying his step mother to say anything about his sudden revelation.

"Ah how wonderful. Your father would have been so happy to see both of his sons settled with such beautiful women." Izayoi beamed. "When Inuyasha told me he was getting married, I took the first plane over and came to meet my future daughter. I was also eager to see my dear Shippou once again of course. I am even happier now that I know that I will be a grandmother once again soon, but also that my dear Sesshoumaru has finally found someone to settle himself with."

"Hum… thanks I guess." Kagura replied, for lack of a better thing to say.

"Oh no! I would have stayed longer to chat, and get to know you, but I can see Mrs. Nakaya coming towards here. The last thing I want is to listen to her go on and on about her glorious family history." Izayoi said with an annoyed frown. "Therefore I will take my leave now. I am not in town for long, but it would really please me if we could have a family gathering. Maybe we could go out to dinner? That would truly be marvelous. It was a pleasure to meet you Kagura dear. I hope to see you soon Sesshoumaru." Without another word the older woman left the two of them.

"Wow she is quite the interesting woman." Kagura murmured as her crimson eyes followed Izayoi disappear into the crowd.

"How can you doubt it? You have met her son, have you not?" The dog demon remarked casually as he relieved Kagura from her empty glass to place it next to his on a nearby side table.

"For some reason I thought you and your step mother did not get along."

"I may not talk of her often, but I do not hate her. We were not close while she was married to father, and after his passing she moved back to her hometown, so I do not see her often. I therefore have no reason to talk of Izayoi." He said with a slight shrug.

Even if she suspected his feelings for his step mother might be more than he would like her to believe, Kagura simply decided to let it go for now.

_'No need to worry, I know I will get past all his defenses soon.' _She smiled to herself.

The dog demon was surprised when none other than Miroku tapped him on the shoulder. A pale looking Sango was nervously standing next to him.

"May I speak to you… alone." The blue eyed human asked. It was not unusual for Miroku to attend the yearly memorial service as he had been as close as a son to the late Takahashi patriarch; however, it was not common for the carefree young human to look as troubled as he did now.

"Whatever you have to tell me, I am sure you can tell this Sesshoumaru in front of Kagura." He responded.

"I was really hoping you wouldn't say that…" Miroku sighed before giving his girlfriend a meaningful look.

"Maybe… it would be better if Kagura were to come with me for a little while… we could go check on the children. Last I saw them playing with Kirara and Rin mentioned wanting to have a pet, I told her we could ask you…" Sango stammered clearly uncomfortable.

"What the hell is wrong with you two? Why are you acting so weird? Just tell me what the fuck is going on!" Kagura snapped. At first she had been worried by her friends' weird behavior, but now she was downright mad; there was nothing she hated more than being out of the loop.

"Well it's not an easy thing to say…"

"Miroku. Out with it now lest this Sesshoumaru loses his patience." The dog demon glared at his friend.

"Fine… Just remember not to shoot the messenger... Ever since my dear Sango and I got here, we've been hearing rumors…" A clearly uncomfortable Miroku suddenly paused, as if looking for the best way to make his announcement.

"Rumors? What kind of rumors?" Kagura asked even as a sense of dread spread through her.

"Miroku…" Sesshoumaru warned one of his oldest collaborators one last time.

"Rumors saying that your new girlfriend is a whore. Is it true? Could my son have fallen so low?" A mocking feminine voice came from a few feet away. Kagura quickly turned around, and was met by a sharp pair of amber eyes belonging to a beautiful older dog demoness with long silver white hair.

"Mother?" Sesshoumaru breathed out in total incredulity.

* * *

"So Mr. Kumo, what exactly made you want to apply for the position at our daycare? We are a small business you understand, and we do our best to only hire people who we truly feel would be a great fit with the staff and the kids. We are one big family." The older gray haired woman asked to the handsome man seated across from her small office. Somehow despite the fact that her work space was small, cramped and littered with toys, the man managed to stay as dignified and handsome as could be.

_'I don't know yet how he'll be with the kids despite his extensive resume, but he sure as hell going to be a hit with the moms.'_ She thought, chuckling inside.

"Well Mrs. Shurui, if I were to be honest with you, I have gone through some very challenging times, notably the loss of a business." He paused to let out a long suffering sigh before adding "But one good thing came out of it. I have come to know that nothing is more important than family. I have grown closer to my children, and I want to help as many families as possible. Working as a handyman and driver for your daycare I am sure would be a great way to do that." He stopped talking watching closely the emotions playing on the woman's face. He could tell she was moved by his tale, but would need a little more to be convinced to trust him completely.

_'I need her to fulfill my plans. I guess I have no choice, but to use this last resort.'_ He thought, keeping the all too fake nice smile plastered on his face in place.

"Here is a picture of my eldest daughter, with her new born daughter." Just as he spoke the last words, he fished out his wallet to display a picture of a very young looking dark haired woman cradling a pale baby in her arms.

"Oh my I never imagined you would be old enough to be a grandfather." She gasped, her eyes softening at the sight of the pale haired child. For some reason the child and her mother looked vaguely familiar, but the widow could not exactly remember where she had seen her.

_'Well not really surprising considering all the kids I have taken care of ever since I opened the day care thirty years ago. There's no way I can remember them all. Besides instead of chasing after an old memory, I should focus on flirting back with this charming man.'_ Even as she thought that, she quickly ran a smoothing hand over her hair, meaning to make sure everything was in place.

"And that coming from a woman as young and beautiful as you. Oh how you flatter me madam." He smiled before placing back his wallet in the pocket of his jeans. "As you can see I have all the qualities needed for this position, and am the best man for the job." He added on a more serious tone.

"Indeed I agree. How soon can you start?" She asked bating her eye lashes at the younger man.

"How soon do you need me?" He replied sending her the most dazzling smile he could muster. _'The first part of my plan is in place. Only a little more, and my revenge will be complete.'_

**To be continued…**

A/N: There you have it the long awaited update. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, even if it asked many more questions than it answered :P The next update will be as soon as I can. I have yet to choose a chapter, but be sure it will be a wild one. Wonder how Kagura will get along with her future mother in-law?


	69. So much for the welcome

_**Chapter 69: So much for the welcome…**_

A/N: Hello, yes it is indeed me. I am once again so sorry for not updating sooner. Although I made this chapter extra long, it cannot excuse by sporadic posting.

Thanks to all of you guys for the great reviews and support:

**Syzhale **

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor**

**Roguereader **(Ha ha Sesshmom will be playing a bigger role from now on, which will be sure to please you :) And who said anything about kidnappings or killings… no need for your weak heart to start panicking… just yet?)

**Writtenword** (Thank you! I am glad to have helped reassure you, and promise to do my best not to disappoint.)

Thanks to **Dogsfang **for the nice PM.

_On :_

**Anime-rocks-1010** (Glad to see you're so protective of Kagura and Sesshy… and Naraku being the mysterious man? We'll see about that.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

"_Miroku. Out with it now lest this Sesshoumaru loses his patience." The dog demon glared at his friend._

_ "Fine… Just remember not to shoot the messenger... Ever since my dear Sango and I got here, we've been hearing rumors…" A clearly uncomfortable Miroku suddenly paused, as if looking for the best way to make his announcement._

_ "Rumors? What kind of rumors?" Kagura asked even as a sense of dread spread through her._

_ "Miroku…" Sesshoumaru warned one of his oldest collaborators one last time._

_ "Rumors saying that your new girlfriend is a whore. Is it true? Could my son have fallen so low?" A mocking feminine voice came from a few feet away. Kagura quickly turned around, and was met by a sharp pair of amber eyes belonging to a beautiful older dog demoness with long silver white hair._

_ "Mother?" Sesshoumaru breathed out in total incredulity. _Then after getting over the shock of seeing his most unexpected mother, he regained his aloof composure, and placed back his impassive mask on his face. It would not be becoming if she was to see how affected he truly was by her sudden appearance.

"You were not invited." Sesshoumaru said, his commanding voice resonating through the large room as everyone else had fallen quiet. He could care less that people were now avidly staring at him and his family. He knew his mother all too well, and did not want to leave her a chance to hurt Kagura.

"Hum I like to believe that my invitation was lost in the mail, which would not really be surprising considering that I have been moving around a lot as of late. All these fashion shows to see…" She then let out a small cold smile as her eyes finally moved from Kagura to her son. "Luckily your little demon was at the door, and he was able to welcome me as I should have been. That little green toad is at least someone useful you have decided to surround yourself with."

"Jaken." The dog demon beckoned his employee, ignoring his mother's last jab at Kagura.

"Please forgive me Master Sesshoumaru… she forced me and would not take no for an answer… I did not know what to do!" The ever faithful imp demon said bowing in front of his employer of many long years.

"In any case how I came to be here is very incidental." The older demoness said as she batted her hand before sending Jaken a look that caused him to scamper away, to Sesshoumaru's great annoyance.

"Instead of blaming him for my presence you should be answering my question. So is it true? Is _that_ woman, who has clearly gotten you to lose your mind, a whore?" She then fixed her chilling glare on Kagura.

Throughout the previous covertly venomous exchange between Sesshoumaru and his mother, Kagura had decided to remain silent. She after all was still trying to gather her wits after the shock created by the appearance of her future mother in-law. Ever since she had agreed to Touran's plan and accepted to let her go public with her past in order to get rid of Sesshoumaru, she had known that some people would find out about her past. However the last person she had thought would confront her about was her Sesshoumaru's mother.

_'She is the most horrible mother. She doesn't even care about Sesshoumaru; all she wants is his wallet, so how dare she judge me?' _The fuming wind sorceress asked herself. She started seeing red, and it had nothing to do with the color of her eyes.

"First of all, _that woman_ has a name. It is Kagura Onigumo, but soon to be Takahashi." Kagura spoke up as she laced her arm with her fiancé's. At that moment she really regretted not taking Sesshoumaru up on his offer, and accepting a big, bold and expensive engagement ring to proudly display on her finger; she really would have loved flaunting it in his mother's face right now.

Noticing how the other woman quickly turned pale, Kagura then realized that his mother had not known that they had gotten engaged, and by the collective gasp, and ensuing quick whispers resonating around the room, she gathered that many of the other guests at the memorial had not known either.

"Don't worry, I will personally make sure you will receive an invitation to our wedding. I really wouldn't want you to have to bully Jaken to get in the building next time." Even though Kagura knew that she was being mean; she did not care as she did want to hurt the other woman. After all she could not help but resent the woman standing across from her. Not because of her great beauty, or expensive designer clothes, but because she was the reason Sesshoumaru had such a hard time trusting and loving people.

_'Knowing what he had to deal with, who could ever blame him for being cold? I may have had a crappy upbringing with Naraku, but Sesshoumaru also had it tough with her…' _The wind sorceress thought to herself. _'Does the woman even know how to smile?' _She wondered to herself, her heart once again aching for the man she loved.

"Married? You would marry _her_? Do you have no pride in your family name? The Takahashi name is too respectful for the likes of her." The sudden red flush appearing on the face of Sesshoumaru's mother was the only indication that the woman was really mad.

"Mother" He cut her, speaking on a threatening tone. He knew exactly where this conversation was going, and was not liking it one bit.

"I will not have any of this. Obviously you have indeed lost your mind, and are in need to have someone remind you of your responsibilities and duties!"

"When will you ever learn, Asuka?" None other than Izayoi asked as she wedged though the crowd of curious to get to her step-son. She knew exactly how hurtful her late husband's first wife could be, and she deemed it necessary for her to come to Kagura's rescue.

_'It seems that she has had a lot of pain in her life, I will not stand by while the poor child is hurt even more by that evil witch.'_ The older human thought to herself.

"My my Izayoi why am I not surprised to see you would come to _her_ rescue. You whores do have to stick together…" Sesshoumaru's mother snorted.

"Listen lady! I don't care if you are Sesshy's mother, but I won't let you talk to my mom that way." Inuyasha growled. He had wanted to get involved sooner and support Kagura and his brother, but he knew that both were able to defend themselves. However the second Asuka had decided to attack his mother, he had to step in. He knew that the older dog demoness had tried making his mother's life miserable when she had married his father, but he had been too young at the time to do anything, but things were now quite different.

"Thank you honey, but I can take it from here." Izayoi smiled affectionately at her son before gently rustling his white bangs. Even if he blushed slightly and protested being treated like a kid again, he did do as asked, and walked away. Even as he stepped back and rejoined his anxious fiancée where they blended with the crowd, he kept his amber eyes trained on his brother, mother, Kagura and Asuka in case something would happen. If it were the case, he would be ready to intervene.

" What exactly do you, a pitiful human think you can do to me? Will you band with this sorry excuse of a youkai in order to take me down? Please do not underestimate me. There is a reason why I was _his_ first mate." Asuka scoffed.

Even if Izayoi wanted to point out that her son's father had left Asuka for her, she refrained herself as she did not want to lower herself to the level of the older demoness.

"I may be a _sorry excuse of a youkai_, but it sure beats being a leech living off her own son." Kagura did not have Izayoi's scruples and she was not one to let herself be insulted and not say anything in return.

"Why you!" Asuka growled. She was so angry at being insulted by someone she felt was so beneath her, that she let her emotionless mask shatter.

Having noticed the green hue suddenly tainting his mother's claws, and knowing all too well it was a prelude for a poison claw attack, Sesshoumaru decided to intervene. Just as he was about to move away from the wind sorceress's side in order to calm down his mother, he was taken by surprise by Kagura's reaction.

She was no longer the weak, scared and battered demoness who needed to be saved. She was indeed quite different from the woman he had rescued from her father's blows so many months ago; therefore, he had not expected her to step back and let his mother say as she wished, but one thing the dog demon had not anticipated was for his fiancée to suddenly decide to start fighting with his mother in the middle of his father's anniversary memorial service.

Sesshoumaru felt a certain pull in the air surrounding them, and knew immediately that Kagura was about to call forth her wind powers. He quickly placed a comforting hand on his intended's shoulder, silently telling her to call back her attack. The last thing he wanted was to have to physically come in between his mother and fiancée.

"Mother. As this Sesshoumaru has stated before, you were not invited. Now if you do not remove yourself, I will cut you off. Do not doubt that I will stop supporting you if you do not leave my _fiancée _alone." Sesshoumaru's deep voice suddenly cut through. In order not to give the crowd even more to talk about, he had kept his voice as even and void of anger as he could, even if inside he was fuming.

The prospect of being left without a source of income scared Asuka into silence. She had never seen her son as angry as he was now, and did not like that his reaction had been brought upon by a mere wind demoness.

"Fine." Asuka finally said. "I shall leave for now, but do not think this is over. I will make sure that you do not drag my son down with you!" After making this one last statement, she turned around and walked away from the demon couple.

"Ugh well maybe you should take a number, I can assure you that you're not the only person trying to ruin my life right now." Kagura scoffed back, her crimson eyes following the older demoness as she walked away, holding her head high and ignoring the whispers all around the room.

"Well that was the most eventful memorial ceremony ever… Anyways the food is ready, so please proceed to the dining room." Miroku said enthusiastically as he pointed towards the adjacent room. Sesshoumaru sent him a small nod in thanks as seeing how he had quickly created a nice diversion.

The dog demon waited until only he and Kagura were present to address her. "Had I known she was coming, I never would have come."

"Don't worry about it… After all I did say I wanted to meet your family." Kagura sighed before placing her arms around his neck and placing a tender kiss on his lips. She knew how much his mother was a sensitive topic for him, and the last thing she wanted was for him to feel hurt or uncomfortable; relying on humor was therefore a technique she decided to use.

_'At least if I pretend not to be pissed off, and laugh things off Sesshoumaru will not feel too bad about what just happened. He needs all my support; especially today of all days. It is the anniversary of his father's death after all…' _She thought sadly.

"I am sure you have gotten much more than you bargained for when you formulated your request." He retorted dryly. It was then that she noticed that he was not only angry at the situation, but maybe also a little anxious.

_'He may still be afraid that I will leave him… but who could blame him? I did leave him instead of trying to work things out the last time we got in a big argument.'_ She then thought shamefully.

"That may be, but I still win when it comes to dysfunctional families. I mean to balance the craziness of your mother you do have a gruff but likeable brother, and a pretty cool step mom." She joked as she walked towards the other room, where everyone was now waiting for them to start having lunch.

"We do not have to go." He took stopped her by taking her hand in his. "We could collect the girls and go home."

"And miss all the impolite stares, and speculative whispering that is sure to go on during dinner? No way." Even though she faked a smile for his benefit, she was not doing so well.

'_I may not want to go in there, but I have to. I need to show all these people that whatever that old hag might have said does not affect me in anyway. I love Sesshoumaru, he loves me too, and I will show all these people!' _She thought as she raised her head proudly and walked towards the dining area.

Sesshoumaru silently followed after her. As much as he admired her strength, he could not help but worry about what his mother had said. It somehow added to his ever constant worry about him and Kagura being separated by something or someone. No matter how irrational he kept telling himself his fear was, it was still not going away.

The arrival in town of his mother had not been something he had anticipated but he was sure it would strain his relationship with the wind sorceress, but he was also sure he would do everything to prevent whatever his mother was planning to come to fruition. He reached over to gently massage his temple as he could feel a migraine coming.

_'Perfect. This is exactly what I need right now.' _ He thought sarcastically, knowing they would have to leave earlier than expected so that they could drink a cup of his tea. _'As if my mother was not enough of a pain…'_

After all he knew his mother well, and was aware that she never made idle threats. If she claimed she would do something to break them apart, he knew she would.

_'Well we will just have to wait and see what she has in store for us…'_

* * *

Not too far away from the Imperial's reception room, a bitter demon was reading over the newspaper, his eyes unable to move away from a certain article. The man growled before finishing his glass of cheap whiskey. Had his wife been there she would have given him a tongue lashing for drinking so early in the day, but now he really did not care.

_'The old shrew isn't here anyways…' _He thought filling his glass again before downing its content, ignoring the burning feeling of the alcohol. Another burning was simmering through him, which was his great anger.

"These bastards! They are enjoying themselves while my life is ruined!" The angered demon threw away the newspaper in front of him, barely resisting the urge to cut into tiny pieces the page with the article reporting on a recent successful ad campaign.

"They will pay!" He thought, his yellow eyes shining as he looked at the weapon placed next to him on his desk.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Kagura asked softly as she pushed open the door of the bedroom she shared with Sesshoumaru, her hand carrying a cup of a brownish liquid.

After her previous altercation with her fiancé's mother, they had suffered through a long, boring dinner with the other guests. The only break in the monotony of the meal was offered by a few speeches given by former associates of Sesshoumaru's father, praising the late dog demon. Kagura was surprised to see her fiancé's usually unemotional face show some signs of clear irritation while some people were giving speeches. She was therefore not surprised when as soon as the meal was wrapped up Sesshoumaru had instructed her to gather Kanna and Rin, and the foursome was quickly on their way out of the hotel.

Soon after they had dropped off Rin at the orphanage and went back home, Sesshoumaru's slight headache had developed in a full blown migraine. Now that she had helped him through many of his migraines, she had developed a real routine, which always started with her reducing the lights as his pain made him very sensitive to light. Then hoping to help him as much as she could, the wind sorceress tucked him into bed, and brought him several cups of his medicinal tea, hoping to ease his pain.

"Better." He said truly grateful to have her taking care of him so diligently. As much as he hated appearing weak in her eyes, he still loved having Kagura take care of him.

"Good. But you should still drink that cup I made… just in case." She said as she crawled into bed next to him, offering to his lips the steaming cup. He wasted no time taking it from her hands, and drinking down the foul tasting liquid.

While her crimson eyes looked at him putting the now empty cup away on his nightstand, she lied down next to her lover.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." She said gently as he looped his arms around her, and placed her head on his chest. "I always get worried when you have your migraines…"

"You have no reason to worry. I have had this affliction for a long time. Besides there is no pain too great for this Sesshoumaru to handle." He responded, hoping to make her worries go away. Hearing her snort, he knew she was doubting him.

"You do not believe in this Sesshoumaru?" He asked on a slightly teasing tone.

"I didn't say that. You really kicked ass today when you told your mother to shut up, but I still think you're still a person, which makes you just as likely as everyone to feel pain."

He then knew that she was not completely reassured by his earlier words. Having Kagura worry so much about him really made him feel weak; the worse feeling for someone as proud and independent as him. He wanted her to not be concerned about him.

_'She will get used to the migraines as I have, in the meantime, I just need to distract her…' _He snickered to himself.

Then knowing a clear way for him to distract her, he reached down, and pressed a tender kiss to her red lips. She thought he had intended to give her a small peck, but he had more in mind. Before she knew it, he had placed her over his hard long body, and was thoroughly kissing her. At first she had tried protesting, but was quickly finding himself kissing him back, letting their lips press together, and their tongues entwine.

"Sessh… you're not feeling well." She managed to let out in between kisses; even if she did nothing to stop their make out session.

"Do not think." He commanded her, gently running his hand over her much loved curves. Just when Sesshoumaru was about to flip their positions over in order to allow him to start undressing his loved one, the couple was interrupted.

"Mommy!" A shrill cry came from the other bedroom, making both Kagura and Sesshoumaru jump. The wind sorceress wasted no time breaking their kiss, and bolting out of bed before heading towards the guest bedroom, where her daughter was calling for her.

Kagura let out a gasp of shock at the sight of her sobbing daughter looking up at her from her crib.

"Kanna-chan, honey, what's wrong?" The confused young mother asked as she took her child in her arms, and cradled her, at the same time running her hands all over her, checking for any sign of injury.

"Mommy, I don't want him to come…" Kanna said before crying even harder, and burying her face against her mother.

It was then that the dog demon entered the bed room, his golden eyes taking in the situation, and trying to explain what was happening.

"Sesshoumaru, please do something!" Kagura looked over at her boyfriend, crimson eyes opened wide in terror.

For the first time in his life, he was at a loss when it came to what to do. The only woman he had ever loved was begging him for help, his daughter was in pain, but he had no idea what to do.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Hum this was a long chapter with lots of stuff in it. Wonder what is going to happen next… We will see next time in **Through the mirror**. Hipefully I'll have more time on my hand, and will be able to update sooner :)


	70. Through the mirror

_**Chapter 70: Through the mirror**_

A/N: Long chapter for my dear readers today just in time for a Christmas treat:D

Thanks to all of you guys for the great reviews and support:

**Syzhale **

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor**

**Roguereader **(The reason Kagura called on Sesshy is that the situation reminded her of when Kanna's illness worsened, and he had managed to help her out. Now let's just say that Asuka is doing a technical retreat in order to become stronger…)

**Candyredlove**

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts' _

_ "Mommy!" A shrill cry came from the other bedroom, making both Kagura and Sesshoumaru jump. The wind sorceress wasted no time breaking their kiss, and bolting out of bed before heading towards the guest bedroom, where her daughter was calling for her._

_Kagura let out a gasp of shock at the sight of her sobbing daughter looking up at her from her crib. _

_ "Kanna-chan, honey, what's wrong?" The confused young mother asked as she took her child in her arms, and cradled her, at the same time running her hands all over her, checking for any sign of injury._

_ "Mommy, I don't want him to come…" Kanna said before crying even harder, and burying her face against her mother._

_It was then that the dog demon entered the bed room, his golden eyes taking in the situation, and trying to explain what was happening._

"_Sesshoumaru, please do something!" Kagura looked over at her boyfriend, crimson eyes opened wide in terror._

_For the first time in his life, he was at a loss when it came to what to do. The only woman he had ever loved was begging him for help, his daughter was in pain, but he had no idea what to do._

Not being able to stand being idle, Sesshoumaru tried taking charge of the situation. He knew that Kagura in her state of panic must have remembered how easily he had been able to take care of Kanna when she had gotten sick all these months ago. He only wished that things would be as easy as getting Kanna to the hospital last time.

"Kanna." He said softly, on a tone he only reserved for Kagura and their two daughters. "What is wrong?"

"I don't want him to come." She said again.

"Who Kanna-chan? Who is it you are talking about?" Kagura tried asking on as soothing as a tone she could put forth in such a situation.

"No I don't want to talk about it." The child said to her dismayed mother.

It was at that moment that Sesshoumaru noticed a glowing object placed in Kanna's crib. He figured that Kagura had not seen it because she had been too busy trying to comfort her daughter. He leaned forward and was surprised to see that the mysterious object was none other than Kanna's mirror. His sharp amber eyes saw a pair of red eyes glaring back at him before quickly disappearing. When the dog demon blinked again, the apparition was gone from the mirror, and only its usual reflecting surface was left.

_'It seems that the effects of my migraine have not come to pass yet. I am now imagining things…' _He thought in disgust quickly discarding what he had just seen.

"Kanna-chan, where did you see that person?" Her mother asked gently, hoping to help ease her daughter by pushing her fears at bay.

Reluctance clear in her eyes, the little girl pointed to her mirror and its innocent reflecting surface, making Kagura ark an eyebrow in surprise.

"I thought I told you to stop using your powers to spy on people? You promised you'd stop." The wind sorceress scolded her child. She was sure that her daughter had made use of her powers to see something inappropriate for her age. _'Let's just hope that it wasn't porn or a horror movie.' _Kagura thought, suppressing a groan of annoyance.

"I promise I didn't mean to! It just happened. He just appeared in the mirror." The void demoness retorted. She had done her best to keep up her promise, and really did not want her mother to doubt that.

"I believe you." Sesshoumaru intervened. He could tell that his fiancée was upset, but believed Kanna. Despite the scowl on her face, he knew that Kanna was sincere, and wanted her parents to believe her. Besides the last thing he wanted was for Kanna to get closed off, and doubt the love they had for her.

"Yeah Kanna, I believe you too." Her mother's words reassured the toddler. As Sesshoumaru had just done she could easily see the sincerity in her daughter's gaze. At hearing her mother's words Kanna's dark eyes suddenly brightened up. "However I'd really like it if you would tell me what exactly happened." Kagura tried probing deeper.

"I don't know. " Kanna's admission made a chill of fright go down Kagura's spine. She remembered all too well how often she had physically injured herself when she was young because she had not been able to control her powers since Naraku had only reluctantly taught her about youkai powers.

_'But the pain of a wind blade slicing your palm is nowhere near as painful as the kind of psychological damage Kanna could endure if she doesn't learn to control her youki.' _The frightened wind sorceress thought to herself, easily remembering the worrisome information she had read online and in books about the development of void demons.

"Kagura… it seems that the time has come for us to find someone to teach Kanna how to control her powers." Sesshoumaru said as if reading his fiancée's words.

"I know, but what can we do? We looked for someone to help her out, but you know as well as I do that void demons are hard to come by." The wind sorceress retorted.

"What about your… Sakura." He quickly corrected himself. Even though he disagreed with Kagura's reluctance to have Sakura Fujibayashi meet Kanna, he had decided to respect his lover's wishes, and not refer to the older void demoness in front of their daughter. However she was the only void youkai they knew, and if she could help Kanna, he would be willing to do anything.

"What about her?" Kagura asked as she gently smoothed back her daughter's bangs. Speaking of her mother in front of her daughter unnerved her, but she did her best to mask her emotion.

"She could help Kanna with her powers… I am aware you are uncomfortable with Sakura getting to know our daughter, but it might be best for her. Besides you have been in contact with Sakura long enough to get to know her…"

"You don't think I want what is best for Kanna as well?" She exploded, vexed by his remark.

Unlike his usual blank face, the dog demon openly scowled. "There is no reason for you to raise your voice." His golden eyes quickly shifted to the frightened child cradled in her mother's arms. "I am only thinking about Kanna's welfare. Just like you, I only want what is best for her… besides even if you do accept Sakura's help, you do not need to let Kanna know about your… link to her."

As much as she hated it, Kagura could not help but see the truth in his words. The terrified look still present in her daughter's eyes was proof enough that the void demoness was in need of someone from her kind to help her maneuver her new powers.

_'The last thing I want is for her to inadvertently use her powers, and cause herself to have more unwanted visions in her mirror resulting in her hurting herself even more deeply…' _She thought, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Fine! You win, I'll give her a call now." Kagura said as she handed Kanna to her new found father, and reached for the phone.

* * *

The wind sorceress anxiously awaited as the phone rang a couple of times; she had dialed the direct line of the Fujiyabashis, and had therefore expected a quick answer.

"Hello?" A male voice asked gruffly. Usually Morio's manners were impeccable, but he was not one who liked being woken up in the middle of the night.

"Morio?" Kagura asked on too much a panicky voice to her taste. She then cleared her throat before continuing. "Can I speak to Sakura for a bit?"

"Kagura? Is that you? You sound terrible, did something happen?" He asked worriedly. She might not be his daughter, but she was his sons' half sister, which in his eyes gave her the honorary title of daughter.

"I just want to talk to my mother. Is she around?" It was not that she did not like talking to Morio, but Kagura really wanted to ask the older void demoness if she could help her daughter.

"Yes of course. Hold on a second, I will wake her up." As soon as he said the words, he put the phone down, and hurried over to the master bedroom in search of his wife.

In the meantime, a nervous Sesshoumaru said doing his best to mask his anxiety "Is something the matter?"

"No. He's going to get her... Do you really think she will be able to help Kanna?" As much as Kagura wanted to trust in her fiancé, she was still doubtful when it came to his plan.

"I do not see any reason why she would not. As a void demoness herself, she is the best person when it comes to helping Kanna with her powers." He tried reassuring her, even if he himself was not sure his idea would actually work.

"I just hope you're right..." Kagura started but was interrupted when she heard her mother's soft voice come on the line.

"Kagura what's wrong?" She immediately asked. It was unusual for Kagura to be the one calling her; especially so late at night.

"I'm not sure... it's Kanna... it seems that she isn't feeling very well." The wind sorceress did her best to explain the situation.

"Has she been using her powers?" Sakura asked, a frown appearing in between her brows. She had anticipated something like this would happen, and had wished to help her granddaughter figure her new found and growing powers, but she had not wanted to force the issue.

_'I was sure that eventually Kagura would come to trust me enough to allow me to spend time with her daughter, but now it seems we are running out of time, and I cannot afford to wait any longer.' _The void demoness thought to herself.

"Kagura I assure you that you have no reason to worry. I am sure that whatever Kanna is going through is a perfectly normal step in her learning about her powers. I am sure that you as a youkai yourself remember how hard the first few times you had tried using your powers were taxing." Her mother downplayed the situation, trying to reassure her. She would never let Kagura know how much more damaging on the self void demon powers could be compared to wind demon powers.

"I see... I am sorry for calling so late... I guess I must have gotten a little bit carried away..."

Sensing that her daughter was about to bid her goodbye, and hang up, Sakura sprung into action. "No don't worry about it. I had just gone to bed anyways. Besides now that I am up, if it could help put your mind at ease I could drop by, and see if there is anything I can do to help Kanna come down." Sakura said trying to mask how much she really wanted to see her grandchild.

"I guess that would be okay..." Kagura finally muttered after a long silence. Despite her worries over the kind of relationship that could develop between her daughter and her mother, she would still feel reassured if Sakura could help her figure out what had prompted Kanna to cry out earlier.

'_Besides if anyone can help Kanna refrain from seeing things in her mirror it sure would be Sakura.' _

"Just give me the address; I will have Morio start the car." Sakura said a mix of pride and happiness spreading through her. Kagura wasted no time doing so, to her mother relief.

_'It seems I have finally gotten her to trust me.' _Sakura thought after she hung up the phone, Sesshoumaru's penthouse scribbled on a piece of paper now clutched in her palm. After asking her husband to get the car ready, she rushed in the direction of her bedroom in order to change out of her sleeping gown.

* * *

"Hello beautiful darling, do you remember me? We saw each other once before... at the supermarket… you had your beautiful mirror with you then as well." Sakura said on a sweet tone, addressing her granddaughter. As much as she wanted to let tears of joy slip out of her eyes, she held everything in. That night was about getting Kanna the help she needed, not forging a bond with her.

'_Although I hope there are going to be plenty of opportunities to do just that in the future.' _ Sakura thought happily.

Kanna's reddened dark eyes averted from her mother's breast where she had snuggled her head, to look at the voice of the newcomer. She did remember seeing the older demoness before, and also recalled how their encounter had upset her mom. She had however not known what had been said between the two women. She therefore dutifully nodded to answer Sakura's question.

"Well... that is very good." Sakura started suddenly embarrassed and at a loss for words. "I am your mother's friend" she reluctantly finished. As much as she wanted to tell the little girl about their family connection, she knew this was not the best time to do so.

Kagura easily noticed the look of pain that appeared in her mother's crimson eyes when she answered Kanna's question, and for some unknown reason it caused her heart to pinch.

Sakura decided to ignore her little pain, and deal with what she had come for.

"Kanna-chan. From what you mother has told me... something has upset you tonight... do you want to tell me about it? Tell me Kanna, what did you see?" Sakura asked gently, hoping to get the information out of the child. Said child was clinging to her mother even as she clutched to her mirror. While Kagura had been talking on the phone with the Fujiyabashis, Kanna had asked Sesshoumaru to hand her the mirror she had left in her crib. Once she had taken hold of it, she had not let it go, even when her mother had taken her in her arms.

"I don't want to talk about it." Kanna said stubbornly, burrowing her face against her mother's shoulder.

Kagura held on to her daughter tightly before slightly tilting the child's head so that she could stare into her eyes.

"It is something... or someone you saw in your mirror, yes?" The older void demoness pressed on gently.

"I don't want him to hurt mommy!" Kanna finally screamed, tears brimming once again in her eyes before tightening her hold on her mother.

* * *

In the meantime Sesshoumaru and Morio were left alone in the living room. If it had been up to the dog demon, he would have stayed with Kanna, but Sakura has shooed him away claiming that having too many people around would impede her work. It was therefore reluctantly and with a scowl on his face that Sesshoumaru had left the guest bedroom of his apartment, and headed for the living room where his fiancée's step father was waiting.

_'I really do not see how this Sesshoumaru could be a distraction!' _He thought to himself, but his musing was interrupted by Morio.

"I really like what you did with the place... although it must be a little too manly for Kagura and Kanna's taste. The place does look like a bachelor pad…. Not that it matters since you guys will be moving soon anyways..." Morio commented, his warm purple eyes moving around the living room before he sat on the massive leather couch.

"What new house are you talking about?" Sesshoumaru asked. He quite liked his penthouse just the way it was, but would not be against Kagura changing it any ways she saw fit; it was now her house as well after all.

"Well come now boy, don't tell me you expect to raise your family here!" Morio exclaimed shocked. "From what Sakura heard from Kagura, soon you will adopt another little girl." He pointed out, to the now openly scowling dog demon. The latter really did not like one bit to have the other demon tell him what to do; however, as he was married to his lover's mother, he decided to tolerate the situation.

"This issue has already been addressed; Rin and Kanna will be sharing a room." Sesshoumaru retorted dryly.

"This is all fine and well, but what will you do when other little ones start coming?" The illusion demon then asked, his now critical lavender eyes resting on the younger youkai.

"What little ones are you referring to?"

"Now come on boy, we both know that at some point Kagura and you will want more children, this is bound to happen. What if your future kids turn out to be boys? Where will you then put them? In the spare room with Kanna and Rin?" Morio snickered before adding "Not to mention that getting teenage girls to share a room will be a lost war. That I can guarantee you."

As much as he hated to admit it, this was an issue the dog demon had not thought about. There had been so much going on lately with people trying to bring down him, his business and his relationship with Kagura that he had not taken the time to stop and think about the future, beyond his proposal to Kagura of course...

'_And even then it was more like the spur of the moment. I did not even have a ring to offer her.' _ He thought suddenly angry with himself.

"Good answer. I am only badgering you because do not want you to make the same mistake I did. When Sakura and I got married, we lived in my small medical student apartment. It was fine until Byakuya was born, then we had to baby proof the whole damn place, and had not enough space for the three of us. Let me tell you how much of a nightmare that was... Sakura would nag at me all day long, wanting us to move to a bigger place where she could at least play with our son in a yard" Morio stopped, as if basking in the memories of his first years of marriages. "Just like you, I did not have a father to stir me in the right direction, so I'm just giving you a head's up."

Sesshoumaru did not answer and Morio took his silence for a sign of approval. "If you're interested in purchasing a house, my son Byakuya works in real estate, I am sure he'll be able to find something both you and Kagura will love." He then wasted no time taking his wallet out, and handing to Sesshoumaru one of Byakuya's business cards, fatherly pride obvious on his face.

"I will be sure to keep the information in mind." The dog demon said dryly, even if he was making a mental note to give his future wife's brother a call in the near future.

* * *

"Who are you talking about baby? Who do you think is trying to hurt me? What did you see in your mirror?" As much as Kagura tried to sound composed, her hurried words scared her daughter. "Everything will be alright. You know you can tell me." She pressed on, hoping to have the child open up to her, but it did not work.

Instead of answering, the little girl shook her head furiously and let tears pool in her obsidian orbs, causing her mother to let out a growl of irritation.

Noticing her daughter's frustration, and her granddaughter's pain and fear grow steadily, Sakura decided to intervene.

"It's okay. There is no need to talk about it any longer. I am sure that you must have had a nasty nightmare Kanna, and I know a way to make it all go away." Sakura confidently said.

Her interest picked, Kanna finally raised her face from her mother's chest to look at the older demoness.

"I won't see him again?" The little girl's question suddenly made Kagura realize that this had probably not been the first time she had encountered what had terrified her.

"Would you like me to make it all go away?" Sakura's warm confident smile instilled trust in the little girl who quickly bobbed her head in assent.

"But instead of masking the issue, shouldn't we deal with it?" Kagura asked, unsure if her mother's suggestion was the best approach to take.

"Kagura, she is too young to deal with it. It will be our job to do it for her... but not now. Now all I see is a cute little girl in need of some reassuring, and a good night's rest." Sakura's eyes shifted from Kagura to Kanna before she addressed the latter.

"Honey, I want you to close your eyes and relax, can you do this for me?" A sweet smile appeared on Sakura's lips when Kanna complied. "Don't worry everything will be alright." She reassured her daughter before addressing her grandchild once again.

"Kanna, I want you to look inside your mind… do you see door?"

_'A door? What kind of BS is she talking about?' _The incredulous wind sorceress thought to herself just as she was about to interrupt the help session. However Kanna's answer caused her to pause.

"Yes."

"Good." The older demoness said proud of her granddaughter. _'It seems like she is much more advanced than I thought.'_ "Tell me Kanna is the door closed?"

The young child took a moment before answering "No."

"Is something the matter?" Kagura asked after she spied a frown appearing on her mother's face.

"Not to worry, we will work on that…." Sakura smiled at her daughter before speaking to the child once more. "Kanna I would like you to do something very simple for me. I want you to close the door, and lock it. Can you do that honey?"

After a moment of hesitation Kanna finally answered "Yes."

"Good job. How do you feel now?" A visibly more relaxed Sakura asked her granddaughter.

"I don't see him anymore." Kanna said marvel and relief clear in her voice.

As much as Kagura was dying to ask her daughter who the 'he' was, she decided against it. Feeling Kanna visibly relax in her arms was all she had wanted.

_'Besides whoever she has been talking about might simply have been imaginary… she wouldn't be the first kid to have a nightmare.' _The wind sorceress thought to herself, hoping that things were as simple, even if she really doubted it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Kanna wiggling in her arms and speaking.

"You look like Kanna... Why?" The little girl finally formulated something that had been weighing on her mind for a while. The older demoness indeed shared her pale skin and hair, a shade different from Sesshoumaru's own fair coloring.

"Yes that is true... well the reason behind our resemblance is quite difficult to explain" Sakura agreed, aching inside to let the little girl know about their blood connection.

"Why is it difficult?"

Kagura let out a deep sigh, and finally decided that the farce had gone on for too long. Earlier when Sesshoumaru had reminded her that she so far had had no reason to distrust her mother, she knew he was right. Over the past weeks through their numerous phone calls, she had gotten to know the other woman, and actually liked her. In many ways they were similar; especially when it came to caring for the ones they love.

'_Then why am I still keeping this love away from Kanna?' _ The wind sorceress wondered, her crimson eyes staring at the woman who had given birth to her.

"Kanna-chan." Kagura started, turning her daughter sideways so that they would be looking into each other's eyes. "The reason why Sakura looks so similar to you is that she is my mother... and your grandmother."

Unlike what Kagura had expected, Kanna stayed conspicuously quiet after the announcement. The young mother then wondered if her silence was due to the fact that she had not truly understood what the revelation made entailed.

"The lady is your mommy? How come you were not with her… like you and me?" Kanna asked.

"It is Naraku's fault. He did his best to keep us apart, but Sakura found us, and now she wants to be your friend... would you like that?" Kagura asked tentatively. She had been too preoccupied trying to find a decent way to word the situation that she had missed the shiver of fright that had gone through Kanna's body when her mother had spoken the dark hanyou's name; however, this had not escaped Sakura's sharp eyes. She did not voice her concern to Kagura, but made sure to file the information in her brain for a later disclosure.

At first Kanna had been reluctant to accept Sakura's help because she still remembered how scared her mother had been the last time she had seen the two women interact. However now that her mother seemed to be in good terms with the other woman, she saw no reason not to accept her helping hand.

'_She made the bad images go away from my head, and she also made mommy smile.' _The child thought to herself, glad to see thing had worked out well.

"Yes. I want to be her friend too." Kanna turned to look at Sakura, sending her a bright smile. When she saw the smile suddenly displayed on her daughter's face, Kagura knew she had made the right decision.

'_Just because that bastard of Naraku has done his best to ruin my life, I will not let it affect Kanna any longer. Unlike me she deserved to have a loving family, and this is exactly what I will give her.' _Kagura vowed to herself.

"Well it seems like my work is done here… at least for today. I am sure Kanna must be exhausted, and is looking forward to going back to bed." Without waiting for either Kagura or Kanna to acknowledge her words, she walked towards the door of the room, ready to make her exit.

"Will you come see me again?" Kanna asked the retreating woman before letting out a big yawn.

Instead of answering, Sakura turned around and merely looked at Kagura, a question in her crimson eyes.

"Yes of course. It's time for bed now honey. Good night now baby." She took a hold of her child and placed her back inside her crib before bending down to press a lingering kiss on Kanna's forehead.

"Good night mommy." Kanna responded before she snuggled in the covers her mother had put over her, and dutifully closed her eyes.

The wind sorceress waited until both she and Sakura had left the guest bedroom before speaking.

"At the risk of sounding foolish, what was all this talk about doors, locks and whatnot..?" Kagura asked her mother. She was aware that for some reason she could not comprehend, Sakura had been able to help the young child, but she failed to really see how.

"It is a technique my father has taught me a long time ago. It has been passed down in void demon families for generations. It allows members of our kind to close off their minds. All of us void demons form a strong bond with a mirror, and we have a constant connection with it. Sometimes this connection can be very bothersome as it allows us to see thing we do not wish to see. However this decreases as we grow stronger. My father always said that the first step to controlling our powers was to master when to allow our mirror to show us things." The older void demoness suddenly fell quiet as if deep in thought.

"You never talk of your parents…" The wind sorceress said, wondering if breaching the topic was a good idea.

"Kagura, I may have helped Kanna along tonight, but she will need much more help. I must confess that I am worried about whatever she saw in her mirror tonight." Sakura retorted, eager to change the subject from herself to her granddaughter.

"I thought you said it would be alright!" The wind sorceress pointed out.

"I did not lie. She will be fine for tonight; however, she is nowhere near being able to control her powers, and her mirror. Until she is able to do so, she will not be able to block what she sees in her mirror or what she conjures through it…" The older void demoness said.

"Are you saying that whatever Kanna is seeing is not real?" Sesshoumaru interjected. Kagura had expected him to make an appearance soon. After all he had not liked being shut out earlier.

"Hum not necessarily. It might just be a memory… just as it could be something that is actually happening." Sakura explained. Her words left both Sesshoumaru and Kagura thoughtful.

"Well on this note, we will take our leave." Morio announced as he handed her coat to his wife. She acknowledged his words with a nod even as she put the garment on.

The two older demons made their way over to the front door, Kagura and Sesshoumaru following behind them. Morio had just opened the door, ready to bid his goodbyes when Sakura turned around to face her daughter.

"Kagura… I know you told Kanna that I would come visit again… but if you would like to take things slower, and not want me to be around for a little longer… I would understand."

"It doesn't matter anymore. Kanna knows who you are now… Besides she needs you… With only a few words you were able to calm her down, and make her feel better. Not allowing her to see you would be an unnecessary punishment for all of us…" The wind sorceress sent her mother a small smile. The other woman smiled in return, a light sheen due to tears appearing in her eyes. She took Kagura by surprise when she launched herself towards the wind sorceress and took her in a bone crushing hug.

"Just let me know when you want me to drop by and talk with Kanna again."

"Woman. Come now let the girl breathe. We should get going now, it's way past your bed time." Morio teased his wife. She let go of Kagura, and set him a glare before saying "Were you implying that I am old?"

"Oh come on you know I would never say that my love." He tried quickly defending himself.

You will have ample time to reflect on this while you sleep on the couch or the guest bedroom." Sakura huffed before giving both Sesshoumaru and Kagura a quick wave, and marching out of the penthouse.

"I hope to see you two love birds soon." The illusion demon said then quickly rushed after his wife; he really hated going to bed with her being mad at him. She was aware of that fact, and often times took advantage of it.

"Do you think we'll be like them in twenty plus years?" Kagura asked Sesshoumaru after the front door closed behind her mother and step father.

"Of course." He said matter of factly. "Now let us follow their example, and go to bed." The dog demon said as locked the front door, and left the entryway.

"Hey Sessh, do you think Kanna will be really okay?" She voiced her concerns even as she followed her fiancé to their shared bedroom.

He turned around to face her before answering. "I have no doubt about that she will be fine. Sakura seems more than adept at helping Kanna figure out her powers. Things will work out." For her benefit he had put as much confidence in his words as he could. The last thing he wanted was for Kagura to worry unnecessary. Unfortunately he could tell that he had not completely succeeded.

'_I just hope that_ _you're right.' _Kagura thought even as she could not help but feel worry.

The two demons slipped into bed, new worries and deep thoughts present in both of their minds.

**To be continued…**

A/N: In the next chapter (which will probably be posted next year) Sesshoumaru will have a dangerous run in with an enemy, and that is all I will say for now. The chapter will be named **Knife stroke**. Thanks again you guys for putting up with my sporadic posting :)


	71. With the stroke of a knife

_**Chapter 71: With the stroke of a knife**_

A/N: Happy New Year to all of you dear readers. To celebrate 2011, here's your

This chapter marks the acceleration of the plot. Soon we'll have the climax, then *sniff sniff* the conclusion. In the meantime I'd like to thank my dear reviewers:

**Syzhale **

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor**

**Halloween265**

**Writtenword** (A pleasure to hear from you again! Kagura has indeed made a lot of progress, let's just hope she won't be disappointed.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

"For my birthday I want to invite all my friends. I want balloons, and clowns, and mommy said we are going to bake a big cake. Will daddy help too?" Hearing the little girl call him 'daddy' pleased Sesshoumaru beyond words; he was after all still getting used to the new notion of fatherhood.

"If you want me to." He simply answered, repressing the urge to let a smile appear on his lips. He was sure that Kagura would not allow him to step foot in the kitchen when she and Kanna would be baking.

'_It would indeed be better for everyone. After all cooking is not one of this Sesshoumaru's forte…' _He mused to himself. Before Kagura had moved in with him all these months ago, he had been living off take out and frozen food trays. _'Luckily she has helped improve my eating habits.' _He thought fondly about his fiancée.

The child and the dog demon were in the car of the latter going to Kanna's day care. Having him drop her off before going to work had become their morning routine. The day care the little girl attended was next to the headquarters of the Takahashi agency; therefore, making one more stop before going to the office did not jeopardize Sesshoumaru's schedule.

_'Not that I would have minded.' _He thought to himself even as he carefully drove towards the business district. After all having Kagura wake up early in the morning to drop off their daughter was not something he wanted. The wind sorceress often times worked late at the restaurant, or attended night classes at the local college, and her fiancé wanted nothing more than for her to be able to sleep-in in the mornings. They had therefore worked a schedule: Sesshoumaru dropped off Kanna before work in the morning, and Kagura picked her up in the afternoon after her morning shifts at the young mother center.

The dog demon had in consequences become very apt at getting the child ready in the morning.

_'It is quite lucky that Kanna is very mature for her age.' _He reflected, remembering how some parenting books he had read related stories of difficult children who refused to eat breakfast or get cleaned up and dressed before school.

"Of course I want daddy to help with the party. Maybe Rin can help too." Kanna said, a bright smile on her lips. Her words slightly surprised Sesshoumaru, who was quite relieved to see how the young void demoness had gotten over both her animosity towards Rin, and her ordeal with the mirror.

'_I am sure that Kagura allowing our daughter to spend time with Sakura in order to develop her powers has helped Kanna a lot. She seems to be feeling much better.' _

Even as the thought struck him, Sesshoumaru's golden eyes could not help but stare up in the rearview mirror to look at the small rounded mirror placed on Kanna's lap. Even if it had been the vehicle through which she had seen the image which had cause her to cry not so long ago, she was still inseparable from the object.

"We shall have as big a party as you want. You can also invite anyone you want." Sesshoumaru said as he parked his black luxury car in the parking lot of the small day care.

"Can my grandma Sakura come too? I like her." Kanna whispered even as Sesshoumaru unstrapped her from her car seat. Her question slightly surprised the dog demon. He and Kagura both appreciated Sakura's help in dealing with their daughter's powers, but really had no idea how much Kanna cared for Sakura. Ever since the older demoness had helped Kanna with her powers, the two of them had had a couple of small youki control help sessions at either the penthouse, or Sakura's house, but always under the close supervision of Kagura.

"If that would make you happy…" Sesshoumaru trailed off as he picked up his smiling daughter, and walked towards the entrance of the day care center where the owner, an old woman whose name Sesshoumaru could never remember, was welcoming the children and their parents with a broad smile on her lips.

"Hum yes!" Kanna answered happily. Ever since the older demoness had showed her how to block visions from appearing in her mirror, Kanna had been feeling much better, and had not had any nightmares or visions.

As he got ready to bid the little girl goodbye, the inu youkai suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine. His senses were on high alert, but he still could not see anything amiss. He could not help but feel unease though, as if someone was watching him and Kanna. Early on his father had taught him how to trust his inu youkai instincts, and he was sure that right now his instincts were telling him to put Kanna somewhere safe.

"Kanna. Go now before you are late." The dog demon instructed his daughter as he placed her on the ground. His sharp golden eyes followed her until she disappeared inside the security of the building.

His sharp gaze then looked around the courtyard, looking for the malevolent presence he had felt earlier. He ignored the curious gaze people were giving him, and continued scanning his surroundings. When he really did not see anything other than parents looking at him suspiciously while they clutched their young children, he decided to give up.

_'It seems I am worrying for no reason.' _He thought to himself as he hurried over to his car.

* * *

After Sesshoumaru had dropped Kanna at her day care, he hurried over to his office to work. He had an important meeting with a new client in a few hours, and needed to get ready and review the client's file his new secretary, Kiriko, had put together. He had intended to do so the previous night, but Kagura had proved to be too much of a distraction.

_'Another reason why I left the witch sleep in today.' _He chuckled to himself as he walked out of the parking lot of his company, and headed for the main entrance. Since after she came back from class, the two of them had made love deep into the night, he knew she would need all the rest she could get.

Sesshoumaru had been so distracted by his lustful thoughts that he only noticed late the man standing in front of the building of the Takahashi agency.

"Sesshoumaru Takahashi. Just the man I wanted to see." The newcomer said, a grin on his lips.

"Sousuke Yamashita?" Even as he spoke the other man's name the dog demon could not help but show his distaste through a scowl. "Remove yourself from my presence unless you wish to suffer dire consequences."

"How dare you speak to me this way?" The older snake demon snarled, his yellow eyes shining in malevolence. "You ruined me! My wife left me, and she took all her fucking money with her. Because of you and your whore of a girlfriend, she found out about my relationship with Naraku's brothel, and wasted no time running away."

Sousuke's anger manifested itself in a tremor. He knew that after dealing with Sesshoumaru and therefore Kagura at the same time, he would pay his wife a visit. He could still remember how humiliated he had felt when he had gone to the B-bags headquarters to try to explain to his wife how his name had ended up in the papers in the list of Naraku's clients. To his dismay she had already left, and had not given her secretary any means to contact her, which led him to believe she had run away to her father, which was a problem since the old man had never liked Sousuke because he justly saw him as a money seeking jerk.

"And Kanzaki… that damn bastard left the country as soon as things started getting hot. He left me to take all the blame." As the same time as he spoke, the snake demon placed his left hand inside the pocket of his jacket, ready to retrieve the object through which his revenge would come.

Noticing how slurred some of his words came out, the dog demon knew the other man was intoxicated. This last bit made Sesshoumaru even more disgusted with him.

"What do you think you can do to this Sesshoumaru?"He snorted clear annoyance at being interrupted on his face. Not wanting to waste any more of his precious time with the offending snake demon, Sesshoumaru turned around, and kept walking towards his original destination.

"You dare show me your back? Do not underestimate me!" As Yamashita yelled, he lounged towards Sesshoumaru's back, taking him by surprise. The dog demon would later rationalize that he facing away from Yamashita was the only reason the other youkai was able to touch him.

Sesshoumaru first heard the snake youkai run towards him, and therefore quickly turned around to look back at his attacker. Even as he saw Yamashita descend upon him, Sesshoumaru took a step back, trying to get out of the snake demon's grasp, but not quickly enough to prevent the other from making contact with his person.

It was when he lowered his golden gaze to where Yamashita had come in contact with him that Sesshoumaru noticed a tear in the jacket of his suit. A deep growl escaped his throat when he realized that the other demon had attacked him with a knife, a weapon he had just used on him. The dog demon knew it was only his superior speed that had allowed him to leave relatively unscathed from the attack. However he could feel his arm sting, and blood run down his skin, and therefore to his annoyance knew that despite his speed Sousuke had managed to injure him. His reddened golden eyes slid down to the ground where droplets of blood had fallen off his arm, and had gathered on the gray sidewalk in a small bright red puddle. The thought briefly crossed his mind that had he had more of his mother's genes, his poisonous acidic blood would have completely eaten through the cement and rocks. However he being his father's son, there was only a little steam being produced by the corrosive red liquid trying to attack the surface of the side walk, the same way he could feel it burning off his shirt and jacket. Luckily enough the poisonous agent in his blood would soon dissolve due to is coming in contact with air. Sesshoumaru was therefore not worried to see his entire sleeve be eaten off; besides, Yamashita offered a much more important concern.

_'That pathetic demon has dared lay a hand on me?' _Sesshoumaru thought angrily, his eyes turning to a deeper red. He cracked his knuckles getting ready to strike the man standing across from him, but he never got the occasion to retaliate.

"Drop the fucking knife now before I put a bullet in your head." A commanding voice suddenly said.

Sesshoumaru looked past Yamashita, and was shocked to see none other than Kouga standing with a gun pointed at the older demon, who was still clutching in his hand the bloody blade he had attacked Sesshoumaru with.

"What are you doing here?" Sesshoumaru asked his younger brother's friend.

"Well I was going to come and grab breakfast with Dog shit and flirt with Kagome, but saving your almighty ass is just as interesting and… Oh come on you idiot, where do you think you're going now?" The wolf demon sighed as his sharp bright blue eyes followed Yamashita as he tried to flee by walking past Sesshoumaru.

"Can't you see I have a damn gun pointed at you? Besides do you seriously think Sesshoumaru will let you go by him?" He added, but before he could get to the snake demon, Sousuke suddenly turned around, and lounged towards him with his knife. Unfortunately for him, Kouga and his long years at working for the police, after seeing the panicked look in Yamashita's eyes had easily anticipated his move. With a quick kick of his powerful right leg, Kouga managed to rid his opponent of his weapon. Without missing a beat, the younger demon then used his left leg to tackle Yamashita to the ground, and placed his knee sharply between the snake youkai's shoulder blades. His actions had been so fast that the snake demon had had no chance.

"Man you're so fucked! First you foolishly decide to attack my friend there, who will press charges against you whether he wants to or not." The wolf demon said as he ground his knee harder, ignoring Yamashita's groans of pain, and Sesshoumaru's snort. "Then you try to attack me… Bad idea. Do you know how many years you'll rot in prison for attempted murder of an esteemed member of the police force like myself?"

"I didn't know you were a cop…" Sousuke Yamashita whispered, the enormity of the situation finally catching up to him. "Wait I've got a lot of money… I could give you something… I am sure we can agree to put all this behind us." He chuckled despite the pain in his back at being pressed so hardly against the ground. Even though his wife had been the one coming from a wealthy family, and that she leaving him had greatly depleted his finances, Sousuke was willing to do anything not to go to jail; even use some money from the secret stash he had put away for his soon to come escape.

He had never intended to use the secret money he had been stealing from his wife over the years. However since his partner had not come to his rescue as promised, he had to use any means necessary.

_'Where did that bastard go? He said he'd come help me if things turned sour!' _The desperate Sousuke thought angrily, hoping that even is his partner would not help, Kouga would at least take him on his offer.

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes as the scene unfolded in front of him. He was angered that Kouga has wrestled Sousuke before he had managed to pay the snake demon back for injuring him, and destroying one of his favorite suit jacket and shirt in the process. Another thing that really annoyed him was that people were now staring openly at the scene unfolding in front of his office building.

_'What a mess this has turned into…' _Sesshoumaru thought as he gently fingered the tear Yamashita had caused in his suit, frowning when his finger still came back smeared with blood; the wound should have started closing already. This last point only added to his annoyance.

'_I should have guessed that weakling of a man would have tried to get to me sooner or later. It is however fortunate that he has never approached Kagura.'_

"That's _police officer_ for you, not cop. Plus do you really think that you can buy me off? Oh and seems like you just added one more charge against you. I mean the last time I checked, bribery of an official is still illegal." Kouga chuckled as he stood up, taking Yamashita with him.

"Well there goes my meal with Dog shit. Now I have to drop this piece of scum at the precinct… You know you could have at least pretended to help me. You didn't even bat an eye when he pointed that knife on me." Kouga scowled at Sesshoumaru as he reached inside his back jean pocket before slipping the handcuffs he had retrieved around Sousuke's now trembling wrists.

"Why would this Sesshoumaru bother when you seem to have the situation well in hand."

"Unlike you, right…" The wolf sneered, his blue gaze trained on the bloody tear in the dog demon's jacket. At hearing his words, Sesshoumaru barely repressed the urge to growl.

"Tell Dog shit that we'll have to postpone our meal… and then stop by the station later today or tomorrow, so I can take your deposition, and throw that idiot in jail for good." The wolf youkai addressed his brother's older brother before turning back to the crowd around them, and yelling: "Get the hell away from here, the show's over." With these last words, and dragging Sousuke along, Kouga walked back towards his car

With the wolf and snake demons gone, Sesshoumaru saw no reason to linger any longer in the street. Walking past the crowd of people, who had not been scared away by Kouga's outburst, the dog demon hurried inside his office building. He after all still had an important meeting he needed to get ready for.

* * *

Across the street a dark figure had watched with interest the events that had just unfolded in front of the entrance of the Takahashi agency. He was grateful for the crowd the actions of the wolf had attracted. It allowed him to blend in, and be able to observe things from up close without having dog demon smell him and detect his presence. Unfortunately for the dark man, things did not go on as planned.

_'That damned pathetic fool! How could he miss such a golden opportunity?' _The man took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger swirling inside him.

He quickly walked away, lest Sesshoumaru and his wolf friend managed to notice him; he was not ready to make his presence be known.

_'Because of that idiot who was unable to do the simple task I gave him, it seems I will have to handle the situation myself.' _Anger and hatred making his red eyes brighter, the dark man got into his car, and quickly drove off. Soon he would put his plan into place and would bring both Kagura and Sesshoumaru, who had dared to defy him, down on their knees.

_'I better get to work now, or I will be too late.' _He grinned as he started driving towards his new workplace, which luckily happened to be nearby.

* * *

"I'm sorry boss, but I couldn't find anything else for you to wear… maybe you could borrow something from your brother..." Kiriko told her employer on as even a tone as she could; she had finally managed to regain her usual composure.

_'Who could blame me for being flustered? After all it's not every day your boss walks into the office with a knife tear in his sleeve, and blood dripping down his arm…' _She thought to herself, a pout still present on her lips. No matter how much she had wanted to clean up Sesshoumaru's wound, he had refused adamantly.

"I would rather attend my meeting with a blood stained shirt than borrow one of the idiot's red shirts." Only thinking about it almost brought a scowl on the dog demon's face.

"Hum I don't think anyone else had your size… I guess your only alternative is to go home and change…"

"Not enough time." He interrupted her.

The young female secretary suddenly perked up when a thought occurred to her. "Why don't you ask your delectable Kagura to bring you something clean to wear for your meeting?... I am not saying that just because I want to see her, but really I think she is your only choice. Unless you want to give Kozue the wrong impression, and lose his much needed business…"

As much as the idea did not please him, after a quick calculation, he figured that Kagura would indeed have enough time to make it to his office before his meeting. Even if the wind sorceress had still not accepted his offer to buy her a car, he knew that she could make it to his office by bus faster than if he drove to the penthouse, and back to his office.

"Leave me." A smile on her face, the secretary complied with his command. She was barely out of the door that Sesshoumaru picked up his phone.

_'Something tells me this conversation is not going to be an easy one.' _He thought to himself even as he started dialing his home phone number.

* * *

"You were what?" Kagura gasped into the phone, letting go of the spatula she was using to scramble her eggs fall inside the frying pan. She cursed as she retrieved the now burning hot utensil from her pan, and turned the fire off. Her breakfast would probably be ruined, but she had a more important matter now on her mind.

"Attacked I said. By Sousuke Yamashita." Sesshoumaru repeated calmly. If he had had any other option when it came to getting fresh clean clothes he would have used it, but as things stood Kagura was his only alternative.

_'I now regret having given Jaken a vacation.' _He thought to himself. He had forced the imp demon to take some time off when he had been unable to deal properly with his mother at his father's memorial. _'As annoying as he is, at least I can tune out his fussing…He would have done his duty and not ask questions, the same cannot be said of the witch.'_

"You have no need to worry witch. All I need you to do is bring me new clothes, so that I can change before my meeting… I apologize for waking you up. I would have relied on Jaken, but he is… away."

"I don't care if you wake me up! I was already fucking up anyways… and don't you dare tell me not to worry. I have a right to worry if my fiancé gets attacked in broad daylight! What did he do to you?" She asked worry gnawing at her.

"It is comforting to see that you have so much faith in me." He scoffed, slightly hurt that she immediately assumed the snake demon had managed to hurt him.

_'It may be, but I would still appreciate it if the witch had more faith in me.' _He thought, annoyed.

"You said he attacked you, and I know him enough to know that Yamashita is a sneaky bastard. I am sure he did something underhanded to hurt you… so tell me what did he do to you?"

"I would appreciate it if you could bring the gray suit I recently bought. Pair it with one of my light blue shirts." The dog demon ignored her question.

She could tell that his trying to redirect the conversation could only mean that she was right, and that he had indeed been hurt by Yamashita.

"How bad is it? And this time I want the truth Sesshoumaru. The way you keep avoiding telling me is driving me nuts!" The anguish clear in her voice forced him to relent.

He sighed and took the time to find a fine way of wording the situation. "It is merely a graze, this Sesshoumaru will be fine…." He reluctantly admitted.

"A graze? Did he shoot at you? When you said attacked… I thought you meant a punch of something." The frantic wind sorceress suddenly felt as if her heart had stopped.

"You have no need to be this upset. He merely used a knife."

"A _knife!_" She said in a strangled scream. "And that's supposed to make me feel better?... Forget it. I'm on my way, and I swear that if I find your injury is more than a 'graze,' I'll kill you myself than drag you to Suikotsu's clinic." She spat angrily before rushing out of the kitchen, where she had taken the call, the breakfast she had been cooking well forgotten.

"Do not forget my clothes." He said, but his words were only met with the even tone of the phone. Letting out a curse, the dog demon quickly pressed the intercom button on his desk, calling his secretary.

"Yes, sir?" His surprised secretary quickly answered.

"Kiriko. Bring the first aid kit." He would be damned if he let Kagura worry unnecessarily. He would have to make sure that his arm was cleaned and bandaged before she came storming in, no matter how annoyed the idea of having his employee see to his injury annoyed him.

'_What would I not do for that witch?' _He thought to himself. A frown formed on his face when Kiriko walked in, a bright smile on her face, which did not sit well with her employer.

* * *

"This is all my fault."

The wind sorceress could not tear her gaze from the white bandage wrapped around her beloved arm. Usually the sight of him getting changed would have been enough to have her want to tackle him to the nearest bed, or in their present situation couch, but right now sex was the thing furthest from her mind.

"This Sesshoumaru fails to see how. As he told me before his cowardly attack, Yamashita was mad at me, and wanted to harm _me_." The dog demon responded as he quickly slipped on a new shirt, throwing away the ruined one in the closest waste basket. It having a large tear on the sleeve, and being bloody assured him that it could not be salvaged.

While he finished buttoning his shirt, a faint beeping sound came from Kagura's purse.

The dog demon knew all too well the sound was an alarm she had programmed on her cell phone, and was very aware of what it stood for, having heard it so many times. He simply turned towards his refreshment table, and handed to Kagura a glass of water.

"We're in the middle of an argument. I can take it later." She dismissed his questioning gaze. To emphasize her point she reached for her cell phone in her purse, and shut down the alarm.

"I did not know you had changed your mind about having a baby." He said casually. Silently grateful that her having to take her daily birth control pill had given him the perfect opportunity to close a conversation he really did not want to have.

"Oh fine." She gave in, knowing full well that he was merely trying to find a way out of their argument. _'Does he think I'll let him try to sidetrack me this easily?' _She thought as she quickly took out one of her birth control tablets from her purse before popping out a pill, and downing it with the water Sesshoumaru had handed her.

"Happy? Now can we go back to our conversation?" She did her best not to glare at him.

"I do not see what more we have to talk about." He commented lightly before taking the empty glass from her, and putting it away for Kiriko to clean up later on.

"Oh don't play dumb. Had it not been for me, you never would have even met that asshole of Yamashita. We both know that he came after you to hurt me, and get back at me."

"Yamashita said himself that his goal was to hurt me, your name did not even come up." He effortlessly lied. Masking the truth was not really a problem for him as protecting the woman he loved was his utmost priority.

"I have a hard time believing that…" She scoffed. "I know Sousuke enough to tell that…"

Sesshoumaru raised his hand to interrupt her, then walked towards his fiancée, and wrapped her in his arms.

"I am glad he came after me rather than you." He simply said.

"But…" She tried to say, but Sesshoumaru interrupted her by pressing two fingers to her lips.

"We have no need to talk about Sousuke Yamashita anymore. He is now in custody, and from what my lawyer Myouga has told me, he will be thrown in jail for a very long time. Now if he had dared hurt you or Kanna, I can assure you he would be dead… by my hands." The assurance with which Sesshoumaru spoke made a shiver run down Kagura's spine; she could easily tell he was not jesting. Seeing her unease, he took her again in his arms, and gave her a light squeeze, ignoring the pain it caused in his arm.

"I guess I just have to be glad you're okay, and that that damn bastard was arrested." She smiled up at the man who held her securely in his arms, and also held her heart. The words had barely left her mouth that the dog demon leaned down to give her a kiss.

'_You damn bastard. I guess that is the most effective way you found to shut me up.' _She thought even as she let his tongue gently caress hers. As usual she was unable to resist him, and buried her hands in his long silver hair, even as she craned her neck to make it easier for him to reach her lips.

"Feh! To think that we thought you were at death's door." Inuyasha said as he barged inside his brother's office without knocking. His intrusion caused the demon couple to quickly break their lip lock.

"Ah I see now why Kiriko didn't want us to walk in here." Miroku added. The way he spat the name of the dog demoness secretary betrayed how much he still did not like her.

"Inuyasha. Miroku. What do you want?" The dog demon growled, not even bothering to mask his annoyance.

"Well Kouga called to tell us all about how you got your ass kicked by some snake demon. What old man, are you losing your touch in combat?" The younger of the Takahashi brothers snickered.

"I believe that is Inuyasha's way of expressing relief at seeing you are alright." Miroku, ever the peacemaker said.

"The two of you leave, now." Sesshoumaru simply answered, ignoring his two close friends.

"Ha ah yes we will take our leave now." The young human chuckled even as he took a hold of his friend's red clad elbow, and started tugging.

"Just wait a sec' pervert. That mangy wolf, Kouga wanted me to remind you that you have to give a deposition. I also wanted to let you two know that my mom is taking over my apartment tomorrow to cook dinner. So you better come." The scowling hanyou told his half brother and future sister in-law.

"You're just telling us just now?" Kagura asked. She was sure that Izayoi was not the kind of woman to give out an invitation for a dinner the day before.

"Hum it may have slipped my mind." Inuyasha chuckled as he scratched the back of one of his ears.

"Back to work."

Inuyasha and Miroku wasted no time doing as told by Sesshoumaru. After all they had now confirmed Kouga's claim that Sesshoumaru had not been badly hurt.

"It seems we are going to your brother's place for dinner tomorrow." The wind sorceress waited until the two young men were gone before speaking.

"We do not have to go." Sesshoumaru simply pointed out. Since they would have Rin that night, the dog demon would rather they do something just the four of them.

"And miss a family gathering? I don't think so. Besides I like Izayoi, and would love getting to know her better. Now I have to run to work, so please be safe, and don't let crazy bastards stab you anymore."

"Very amusing." Sesshoumaru said dryly even though he was glad that she was making light of the situation, which told him she was not very upset anymore. He never wanted to see the look of worry that had been in her eyes when she had first walked inside his office.

Just then the intercom on Sesshoumaru's office buzzed. He quickly pressed a button on it, awaiting to hear what his secretary wanted now from him.

"Sir, Kozue is here for your meeting." Kiriko's voice said.

"Place him in the conference room, I will be right down." Sesshoumaru responded. He knew that the encounter would not go as nice as he wanted as he had not had time to overview the file on his potential client.

_'Let's just hope the old man decides to give us his business.' _He thought to himself.

"Guess it's time for work. I'll see you at home later." The wind sorceress said as she walked towards the inu youkai then she raised herself on the tip of her toes to press a light peck to her fiancé's lips. Within a few moments she was gone from his office, leaving only her pleasant perfume for him to enjoy.

Grabbing the stack of preliminary sketches his newly formed design team had made to show Kozue, and ignoring the pain of the wound in his arm, Sesshoumaru headed for the door of his office. He knew that in a matter of hours the injury Sousuke Yamashita had caused him would heal completely, but the wound the snake demon had left on his pride would sting for a long time.

_'That bastard is lucky enough that Kouga intervened. He better stay clear from my family or else he could only call getting arrested being lucky.…'_ Sesshoumaru thought as he marched out of his office.

**To be continued…**

A/N: I hope you liked this very long chapter. There hasn't been much bloodshed… yet, but I can assure you that things are going to accelerate soon. I don't have the title for the next chapter yet, but you can be sure it will involve a big Takahashi family reunion.


	72. Family Bonding

_**Chapter 72: Family bonding**_

A/N: Hello me again. Once again a long chapter. It will feature an explanation of family ties and feelings; especially, on Sesshoumaru's end.

**Syzhale (Congrats on leaving the 800th review)  
**

**Sesshkagufan13 **

**Little25victor**

**Candyredlove**

**Lemonz V**

**Roguereader **(Glad to see you're back! I feared you'd given up on the story :) Not to worry Sesshy will get his chance at revenge, maybe sooner than you think… Kanna and her mother have come a long way, but will all their efforts be for naught? We'll see."

**Cool** (Always a pleasure to hear from new people. I am glad to see you enjoed the fic!)

Thank you once again **Dogsfang **for the delightful PM.

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

"How long will you remain mad at me?" Sesshoumaru's golden eyes briefly averted from the road in front of him to look at the quiet woman seated in the car next to him. Ever since he had pulled out of the parking lot of the penthouse, the wind sorceress has been unusually quiet. He was not sure what was wrong, but intended to find out.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but my mood does not rely entirely on you." She said, then quickly regretted it. The last thing she wanted was to take her anger out on Sesshoumaru. He was not to blame, and was suffering as much, if not more than she was.

_'Ah so the witch is mad at herself.' _He thought to himself. Even though he had initially thought that Kagura was over what had transpired the previous day with Sousuke Yamashita, seeing how silent and thoughtful she had been all evening let him quickly know that she had yet to get over things.

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch… It's wrong of me to take my anger out on you; you're the last person who deserves it. It's just that I thought you accepting my past would have been enough to keep it all away, but now all of a sudden everything's being thrown back in my face." She sighed, her sad darkened crimson eyes staring out of the car.

Hearing her words, the dog demon quickly realized that the reason for her upset was more than Yamashita's attack. Just before they left the house, Sesshoumaru had received a phone call from his lawyer, Myouga, informing him that the judge presiding over their adoption case had heard rumors about Kagura's past, and especially her time working for Naraku. He had therefore decided to take a closer look to their petition, which would make them have to wait even longer now to officially make Rin their daughter.

"Kagura, you have no cause to worry. As Myouga explained the judge is just being a little difficult. The matter will be resolved very quickly. In the meantime, do not blame yourself." The dog demon hoped that his words would be enough to reassure his fiancée, and get her back to her usual mood.

"I hope you are right. I just hate the fact that I'm the reason why Rin is still stuck in that orphanage. As if it wasn't bad enough that the bastard of Yamashita attacked you yesterday… "

"Did we not agree not to refer to that incident again?" He interrupted her before she finished her thought. To him the attack was water under the bridge, and did not need to be brought up again.

"I don't even know why I'm mad. I should have guessed this would happen. After all the second Touran gave the information to the newspapers, I knew everyone would find out about my past. I just never realized it would be an issue in our adoption procedure…." She started, but then something caught her eye, and she changed her train of thought. "Wait… we're going to pick up Kanna, why are you driving towards the orphanage?" Kagura had been so lost in thought earlier that she only now paid attention to the route they were taking.

"As planned we shall be bringing _both_ of our daughters to dinner at Inuyasha's. I have called Haruka in advance, and she has assured me there should not be any trouble with Rin spending the night at the penthouse." The dog demon informed her.

"Didn't Myouga tell you the judge said we should reduce the time we spend with Rin in case our petition is rejected?" She asked her fiancé. His answer first came out in the form of a grin.

"I do not care what the old fool says. Rin is _our_ daughter, and we will spend as much time with her as we wish. Moreover you are more than fitting to be her mother." To emphasize his point, he removed his right hand from the wheel, and placed it over Kagura's hand before giving it a small squeeze.

_'Sesshoumaru is right, who the fuck does that damn judge think he is. He has no right to critic me without knowing me, or to try to prevent us from seeing Rin. I love her as if she was already ours, and besides she's already lost her biological parents, and she would be devastated if Sessh and I suddenly dropped out of her life. Not to mention that Kanna's become so attached to her as well…' _Kagura thought to herself, suddenly feeling a strong resolve to mend her family together burn inside her.

"You are right. We promised the girls a dinner out tonight, and this is what we will do." She then paused before speaking again. "I don't know how you do it, but you always know what to say to make me feel better." She said gratefully even as she took his large clawed hand, and brought it to her lips to give it a small kiss. The tender gesture made him chuckle huskily.

"Wind witch you know I prefer to be the one doing the kissing." He groaned, causing her to chuckle in mirth.

"That may be but you'll just have to wait until tonight. For now I want to see our kids." The wind sorceress said as she let go of his hand, allowing it to regain its spot on the wheel.

* * *

Kanna curiously looked inside her mirror, her dark eyes thinning as she concentrated. She let out a sigh of relief when she managed to make the image inside it tremble then vanish.

"I did it!" The child eagerly exclaimed, averting her gaze from the mirror resting on her lap to look at the woman seated next to her, overlooking her hard work.

"Yes you did. Great job. Grandma is very proud of you Kanna-chan." Sakura smiled at her granddaughter, then smoothed her white hair back before getting up from the comfortable and expensive couch placed in her living room. She then picked up Kanna's half empty juice box, and handed it back to the child, who happily resumed sipping her sweet drink.

"I think we should end here for today. Your mommy is going to come pick you up soon anyways." Sakura commented as she took her place back next to her granddaughter. It still felt surreal for her to spend time with not only Kagura, but also Kanna. On that day she had spent the afternoon teaching the young void youkai how to control her powers.

"Wow already?" Kanna exclaimed surprised. When her mother had dropped her off a few hours earlier, she had been a little apprehensive. It was the first time that for one of her sessions with Sakura, Kagura had left her alone with the older demoness. Not that Kanna minded much, Sakura was always very nice to her, gave her tons of delicious snacks, and best of all really helped her stop seeing horrible things in her mirror.

"Time passes quickly for me too when I get to spend time with you honey." The older demoness smile fondly.

"Grandma?" Kanna suddenly asked, slightly unsecure.

"Yes, dear?"

"If I invite you to my birthday, will you come?... You can also bring Morio…" Kanna asked, her voice now dimmed.

Tears of joy suddenly sprang to Sakura's eyes, and she had a hard time getting back her voice. "Yes sweetie. I would love that. Also tell me what you would like as a present. It is after all my duty as your grandma to get you anything you want."

Kanna's dark eyes suddenly sparkled at the prospect. "Really? Can I get a pony?"

Her request made Sakura laugh heartily. "I do not think your parents would really like it if there was an animal running around the apartment… Maybe I could get you something smaller."

Seeing the look of hard concentration on the child's face, Sakura added "Why don't you think about it, and let me know what you want when we see each other next week?"

"Hello ladies, we have some company." Morio announced in a loud voice interrupting Kanna's conversation with her grandmother, and preventing Kanna from giving an appropriate answer to the older woman.

The illusion demon walked inside the living room, three familiar forms following closely behind him.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Kanna exclaimed as she slid off the couch, and hurried towards her parents. "Hi Rin." She then added when she noticed her soon to be sister was with Sesshoumaru and Kagura as well.

"Oh what a delight! Kagura you should have told me you would be bringing your other daughter along as well. I would have gotten her a little snack ready." Sakura said, overcome with glee. It was one thing to have Kagura introduce her to her biological granddaughter as she was helping her with her powers, but quite another be presented to Rin. It was indeed something Sakura had never expected to happen.

"That's okay, we're on our way to have dinner with Sesshoumaru's stepmother anyways. I mean we wouldn't want to ruin the appetite of our little girls. In fact we have to run before we are late. I hope everything went well today." The wind sorceress answered her mother even as she crouched to give her daughter a big hug, which was eagerly returned by Kanna.

"Oh yes everything was lovely." Sakura assured her daughter

"This is my grandma. She is mommy's mom, so she's your grandma too." Kanna pointed out to her sister. As soon as Kagura had freed her from their embrace, the young void demoness had skipped over to Rin's side.

Kanna's words caused a huge smile to appear on Rin's lips, and joy to spread through Kagura. She had for a long time worried that Kanna would be resentful of Rin, but now the two of them seemed to have formed a true bond, to Kagura's relief. Her crimson eyes looked down at the two children, and she could not help the smile that appeared on her lips. She then and there swore to herself that no matter what happened, she would do her best to keep her family together.

"I'm Rin." The young human said looking up at the older woman who looked so much like Kanna, yet had Kagura's crimson eyes.

"Oh yes I know, I have heard so much about you from your mother. It is a real pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Sakura, and this is my husband Morio." The void youkai walked to stand next to her husband while doing her best not to let loose the tears she could feel gathering in her eyes.

"Oh before we leave, I want to give you something." Kagura rummaged in her purse for a folded piece of paper and handed it to her surprised mother. "It is an invitation to Kanna's birthday party. It may be a little early to hand them out, but she made the cards herself, and was so eager to give them to everyone." The wind sorceress chuckled. She then handed the paper to her mother.

"Thanks you so much, it is a beautiful drawing. As I said before, it will be a pleasure for Morio and me to attend your party." Sakura smiled fondly, clutching the piece of paper to her heart before placing the card proudly on the mantel of the fireplace amid pictures of her two sons.

"And you will bring me a big present too? Don't forget!" Kanna reminded her grandmother of their earlier conversation.

"Kanna!" Her mother scolded her.

Morio and Sakura simply laughed in response. "Don't worry about it Kagura, it is our job to spoil your daughters rotten." The purple eyed illusion demon said, already thinking about what to give his step granddaughter.

"Now you guys better run along, I would not want you to be late for dinner. Besides I am sure that Kanna and Rin must be hungry now."

"Yeah you're right. Come on girls let's go. We'll see you next week." Kagura said as she smiled to Sakura and Morio as she ushered Rin and Kanna out of the room after they said their own goodbyes.

As per his habit, the silent Sesshoumaru simply nodded in the direction of his future in-laws before following behind Kagura and their daughters.

"How am I ever going to get that silly grin off your face now?" Morio teased his wife after the foursome had left their presence. He then wrapped an arm around her waist before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh you horrible man." His wife chuckled, even as her smile did not leave her face. "I never would have expected things to go so well, and Kagura to accept me so completely."

"I told you all these years ago that we would get your daughter back. Except that now you got two granddaughters and a son in-law at the same time."

"Hum and I am not complaining one bit. The more the merrier, no?"

"That may be, but now we are faced with a monumental problem…" Morio said with a deep sigh.

"What is wrong love?" His worried wife asked.

"Well what the hell are we going to get our granddaughter for her birthday?" He replied, gently rubbing his chin as if deep in thought.

His wife threw her head back, and laughed before answering. "Do not worry honey, I am used to you not being able to give good gifts. I will figure something out; I always did when it came to the birthday and Christmas presents of Byakuya and Hakudoushi."

"Ah indeed. I knew I had married you for a reason, you awesome gift giver." He fired back.

"You really are just horrible."

"And just what will you do about this?" He chuckled.

"Hum just get me up to our bedroom, and I will show you." She answered, whispering huskily to his ear.

"I stand corrected, _that_ is the reason I married you." He grinned even as he led his wife towards the staircase.

* * *

"Oh Kagura, Sesshoumaru… and this must be your adorable daughters! Please come in! Now that winter is almost upon us, it is becoming quite chilly, so hurry up." Izayoi smiled as she opened wide the door to Inuyasha's apartment, letting the guests walk in.

"Kanna! Rin!" Shippou exclaimed as he appeared from behind his grandmother, and headed towards his two cousins. "My grandma got me this awesome new game, you're got to come and see." He started walking towards his bedroom, Kanna following him eagerly.

"Is it alright if we go play?" Rin, ever the dutiful child paused to ask their parents.

"Of course." Sesshoumaru answered. The young dark haired child wasted no time to join Shippou and Rin in the fox demon's room located at the back of the apartment.

"Aw look at you, you've become a real father Sesshoumaru." An emotional Izayoi said before heading towards Kagura, and looping her arm with hers. "And we have you to thank for the change in my step son."

"Feh! Please don't you start getting all emotional mom." Inuyasha grinned when he noticed the slight scowl on his brother's face.

"Don't worry honey, I will not embarrass you and your brother." She grinned back to her son before dragging Kagura and walking back towards the kitchen where she had spent the best part of her afternoon. "Since Kagome couldn't help me with the cooking, I volunteer you. I am sure that with your extra help, dinner will be done very soon."

Before Kagura had time to protest, Izayoi had already whisked her away. She repressed the urge to growl when the desperate look she had thrown over her shoulder to her fiancé had simply been responded to by a grin appearing on Sesshoumaru's lips.

"So since the women are in the kitchen, and the kids playing in the runt's room. I guess it leaves just you and me here…" The hanyou noted, absentmindedly scratching the back of his furry ear. He almost cursed when he realized how stupid his remark had been; it was after all most unusual for him and his half brother to be alone together. He however still had the urge to talk as unlike Sesshoumaru he was not comfortable with silence.

For some reason his older brother could not help but be reminded of the night when Sakura had dropped by to help Kanna, and he had been stuck with Morio.

_'If my idiot of little brother thinks he can get away with giving me life advice as well, he will find himself at the receiving end of my fist.' _His ego had not yet recovered from Inuyasha's mocking words after Sousuke Yamashita had attacked him in front of his office.

"Keh! Why are you scowling? Did you think I was going to ask you to share our feelings or something? You should know me better. Anyways wanna drink something?"

"Yes." Sesshoumaru said with a relieved sigh before walking over to the living room, and settling in on the couch.

After getting both of them a glass of whisky, Inuyasha joined his brother before speaking.

"From what the damned mangy wolf told me, the bastard who attacked you has been thrown in jail while waiting for his trial." The inu hanyou tried to sound as casually as possible. Despite his assurance of the opposite, he had been worried about his brother when Kouga had told him about Yamashita's attack. He wanted the snake demon to pay as much as possible.

"Which I consider him getting off easy." Sesshoumaru growled before taking a sip of his drink. Inuyasha almost gasped in shock. His usually calm and collected older brother was obviously openly upset, which was very surprising.

"If as he wanted he had managed to harm Kagura in any way, he would be finding himself in a much direr situation." The dog demon said.

"If you ever need anything… you know where to find me." Inuyasha grinned, smiling as he spied from the corner of his eye his brother nodding in gratitude.

_'The thing I want most is for Kagura to stop blaming herself. However I doubt you will be able to help in that regard.' _He thought to himself as he tossed down the rest of his drink, and extended his glass towards his younger half brother for a refill.

"Feh! I knew I should have given you the cheap sake Miroku gave me, my expensive liquor would be lost on a drunkard bastard like you." The hanyou grumbled even if he did go to serve his brother once more.

"Quit whining, it is highly unbecoming." Sesshoumaru shot back to his scowling brother. _'At least arguing with the idiot is an effective way to ease my mind.' _He chuckled to himself, getting ready for the rejoinder Inuyasha would be sure to throw at him soon.

* * *

"You can relax Kagura. Izayoi isn't going to grill you; she's really cool." Kagome smiled from her seat on the nearby small table. Unlike the wind sorceress the young human was not helping Izayoi set up the finishing touches to the meal. The first reason being that she was a horrible cook, and had the tendency to burn any dish she attempted, and the other that as of late merely the smell of certain foods had been enough to cause her stomach to heave and her 'morning' sickness to set in.

"I'm not worried at all." The wind sorceress lied effortlessly as she finished chopping mushrooms, and added them to the simmering pot on the stove.

"And you have no reason to be. I was not lucky enough to have daughters of my own, but I truly wish you can come to think of me as a second mother. All I want is for Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha to be happy, and I can tell the two of you make them happy." The older human woman paused in her plating efforts to turn around and look at her two 'daughters in-law,' a contented smile on her lips.

Her words caused Kagura to let out a relieved sigh. She had not expected Izayoi to be like Sesshoumaru's biological mother, and oppose their relationship, but having his step mother openly accept her inside their family was something that meant a lot to her. She was so happy she could feel tears of joy pooling in her eyes.

_'Acceptance is really a wonderful thing. I can now understand better why it meant so much for my mother that I forgive her, and trust her with Kanna.' _The wind sorceress smiled to herself. _'And also why it always feels so wonderful to have Sesshoumaru accept me and my past without trying to change me.' _

"Well the soup's done, so I guess we can go eat now before everything turns cold." Kagura said. She quickly poured the steamy tasty liquid inside a serving dish present on a nearby kitchen counter.

"Wonderful. You truly are a wonderful cook. At least I know that Sesshoumaru is finally feeding himself properly. If only Inuyasha could be the same…" Hearing Kagome let out a gasp behind her, Izayoi quickly turned around, an apologetic smile on her lips. "Don't worry honey, being a good cook is not the only quality you have at your disposition to make your husband happy. In fact I am sure Inuyasha appreciates your sweetness and sense of humor more than anything."

"I don't know about sweetness, but I sure can laugh!" An eager Kagome sprung to her feet, and took a plate of noodles in her arms. "This smells amazing, and thankfully my nausea is gone for now, so I'll be able to enjoy all the food you guys made." She then added before heading towards the dining room.

"Oh how this brings me back. When I was pregnant with Inuyasha, on a daily basis I ate about my own weight in food, at least that is when I got over the vicious morning sickness… What about you Kagura? How was carrying your daughter?" The older woman who was walking in front of the wind sorceress asked her.

"Good…" Kagura said soberly. The last thing she wanted was to remember how horrible and difficult her pregnancy had been. What should have been one of the most exciting times of her life had been ruined by Naraku. A time when she was supposed to be looked after and congratulated had been spent escaping blows. Jakotsu and Bankotsu's center had helped her out, but having instead the love and support of her family would have been something she wanted.

"I am sure that the next one will be even better." Izayoi commented lightly. She after all had been able to see right through the wind sorceress. She may not know her well enough to dare ask her about the circumstances of her daughter's birth, but she could easily tell that there was a sad story behind it.

_'However I know that now that she is with Sesshoumaru, she will be protected and happy.' _The older human woman thought sadly. She had enough confidence in her step son to know that he would take good care of Kagura, and help heal the wounds she could see the young wind sorceress had.

"What next one? Kagura! How come you didn't tell me you were having a baby too?" Kagome exclaimed as she turned around to face her former coworker and friend.

The wind sorceress blushed slightly before stammering. "No… It's… I'm not…"

"Oh my Kagome, it seems that you have taken too seriously the wishful thoughts of an old woman." Izayoi chuckled before displaying a dazzling smile. "Unlike you our dear Kagura is not with child… yet. Now come on let's go and have a nice Takahashi family dinner!"

_'Old woman?' _Kagura scoffed. _'This woman is way sharper than she lets on… What have I just gotten myself into?' _She then wondered as she silently followed the two other women towards the dining area.

* * *

"Ugh I'm so stuffed right now, I can barely walk." Inuyasha sighed happily just as he dropped his body on his living room couch. He closed his eyes, and breathed deeply, hoping to ease his full stomach. He did not even move when the other dinner guests sat around him in the living room. Izayoi sat on her son's side, leaving him sandwiched between his mother and fiancée. A drowsy looking Shippou settled himself on the lap of the father. Just like Inuyasha he had indulged a little too much, and was finding it harder to stay awake. Sesshoumaru, Kagura and their daughters took the opposite couch.

"I must admit that I am surprised to see you can eat things other than ramen." Kagome teased her fiancé. She then reached up to gently smooth back Shippou's red mane. Just as the young fox and his father, Kanna and Rin had stuffed their faces with the feast Izayoi had cooked for dinner; to the point where just like their friend Shippou all they could do was snuggle in between their parents, and do their best to follow the conversation taking place around them.

"Oh my Inuyasha has always had a healthy appetite; especially, when I make Chinese food. It probably has to do with our heritage. Half of my family is from the old country after all."

"Mom! Why are you talking about me as if I wasn't in the fucking room?" The irritated hanyou interrupted his mother.

"Mind your language!" Izayoi scolded him. Instead of growling in annoyance as he wanted, Inuyasha's ears flattened against his skull; there was nothing he hated more than having his mother lecture him.

"As much as I would love to lounge around and enjoy the conversation, I think the little one are about to fall asleep on us." Izayoi noted as her dark eyes looked at the bleary eyed Shippou, Kanna and Rin. "Anyways I need some volunteers for the clean up." She added as she stood up.

"I didn't do any cooking, so the least I can do is clean." Kagome said as she took to her feet, and picked up the dozing Shippou from Inuyasha's lap before placing him on the spot she had vacated on the couch.

"Oh no no. You and Kagura just need to rest and relax. Inuyasha is going to clear the table…" Izayoi started, but her scowling son interrupted her.

"Keh! Why me?"

"Because you love me, and you want to keep your old mother happy." She turned to her left, and sent him her most innocent smile. He of course had no choice but to reluctantly agree, and she conveniently turned a blind ear to his grumbling. "And Sesshoumaru will help me wash the dishes. I would use Inuyasha's dishwasher, but the thing is already full from his weekly dirty dishes." Izayoi ended her sentence with sending a pointed glare to her son, who simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Oh I don't think this is such a good idea… I can help with the dishes." Kagura quickly suggested. The thought of her fiancé standing behind a sink, and washing dishes was not something she could fathom. After all the image of how dirty his kitchen had been when she had first met him was still engrained in her brain. Ever since she had entered his life, he had started making efforts to keep his clutter to a minimum, but he had yet to meet earn her stamp of approval, so did his best to stay clear of the kitchen.

"Do not tell me you doubt his abilities, how unbecoming for his wife to be…" Izayoi remarked in a fake casual way.

As much as Sesshoumaru knew his meddlesome step mother was just trying to manipulate him, and get him to do as she wanted, he could not help but raise to the bait. He would be damned if he was to let Kagura think he was a good for nothing when it came to the domestic arts. "This Sesshoumaru is as capable as washing dishes as anyone."

"Oh marvelous, then why don't we get started, it would be just like old times." She then took a pause as she thought back to the years she had spent with the three dog demons. Izayoi ignored the pain stabbing at her chest thinking about her late husband never failed to cause, and smiled as she stood up, and took Inuyasha, then her step son by the arm, and lead them both towards the kitchen.

A stunned Kagura waited until the three of them had disappeared before speaking, her voice full of admiration. "Izayoi is quite the terrifying woman."

"I wish she'd teach me how she always gets the two of them to do whatever she wants." A pouting Kagome sighed wistfully. Her words caused Kagura to dissolve in laughter.

* * *

"Thank you for accepting to help with the dishes; you did not have to. I also wanted to thank you for taking such good care of your brother. I would stay and watch over him myself, but my aunt needs me, and since she pretty much raised me, the least I can do is watch over her during her last years of life. At least I can stay away for long stretches of time without having to worry about Inuyasha, and that is thanks to you."

"As idiotic as Inuyasha is, he is a grown man, and has no need of me. And I have never been concerned with his well being." Sesshoumaru retorted. He then extended his hand to take the soapy dish Izayoi was extending to him, he then rinsed it, and put it away.

"We both know that is not true. For example if you had not taken over the agency, Inuyasha would not even have a job. I never really got to tell you, but I am really grateful. _He_ would be so proud of the man you have become, just as I am." The human woman smiled with affection.

The dog demon refused to answer. He knew the 'he' she was referring to was his father, and his father was a topic he never broached with Izayoi. The first reason being that ever since his unexpected passing, he was aware that his step mother had had trouble talking about his father, or even speaking his name. The most important reason was however the fact that Sesshoumaru always felt uncomfortable discussing his father, and his feelings towards him.

Izayoi let out a sigh. She could tell that Sesshoumaru did not want to talk, and therefore simply decided to reorient their conversation on safer grounds.

"Why is it that the little darling Rin is not yet a Takahashi? I would have thought that Myouga would have had been able to do so already, he has after all always been so effective..."

Sesshoumaru clenched his jaw at hearing her words. "The judge has heard of Kagura's past through the newspapers. Since she is to become Rin's adoptive mother, the procedure has slowed down."

"Considering the recent revelations in the press about Kagura, I cannot say I am surprised…" She said eager to see her stepson's reaction to her words.

"Do not think of dishonoring my fiancée." He growled, dropping the plate he had been rinsing at the bottom of the sink, not even caring if the fine china broke into pieces. Just as he had done with his mother, Sesshoumaru was ready to defend Kagura; he would not let her be demeaned by _anyone_.

"Hum you are quite protective of this one. Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not disapproving of her. In fact I rather like her, and think Kagura is a fantastic young woman. She however seems to have suffered a great deal. Even if I am sure many of them have been exaggerated, I have read the nasty reports on Kagura's past in the press, and all I can say is that the memorial service is not the only thing that led me to come back for a visit..." She commented with a shrug of her shoulder. She then went back to washing dishes, acting as if what she had said was not monumental.

"You came for Kagura?"

"And for you as well… I figured the two of you could use as much support as possible. I know that I am not your mother, and have never tried to take her place, no matter how awful the woman might be…" She then paused as her lips turned into a grim line. Thinking about the vindictive dog demoness always annoyed her, but she knew now was not the time to give thought to her late husband's first wife. She then sighed before speaking again. "Even if things between us have not always been as… comfortable as they are today, I have always cared for you a great deal, as you know."

Sesshoumaru wished he could leave. In fact the last thing he wanted was to talk about his feelings and his relationship with Izayoi. However his pride commanded him to stay. He was not a coward, and would not run away.

"Just yesterday when your brother told me you had been injured, I was concerned. Even if I have been married to a youkai, and knew you would heal fast, I was still worried. Although the fact that Inuyasha seemed so very amused by the situation should have told me that things were not as horrible as I had imagined…" The woman handed her the last of the soapy plates.

"Of course the imbecile would laugh." Sesshoumaru muttered under his breath as he rinsed the serving plate, and put it away as well. He was very relieved to see that they were done with the dishes as the one thing he wanted the most at the moment was to be away from Izayoi.

"You have no need to worry about this Sesshoumaru. I am more than capable of looking after myself."

"You may think I am foolish, but no matter how many times you may assure me you are fine, I will still worry…. Especially due to your… ah… condition. How have you been doing?" She asked tentatively. His blood condition was something Sesshoumaru never wanted to talk about; especially with her.

"This Sesshoumaru is fine."

_'Back to the third person… means there's something he's not telling me.' _She thought to herself, worriedly. She could still vividly remember the first time the young Sesshoumaru had been victim of one of his migraines in front of her. He had just moved in after his father had been granted full custody, and his father and Izayoi had not known what to do. For weeks they had tried medication as advised by the doctors, but to no avail. The only thing that had managed to ease his pain was the herbal medicinal tea she had made up after reading about ancestral Chinese remedies. It had taken her a long time to perfect the recipe, and manage to brew the ideal balance of herbs and roots for him.

_'If I had any indication that my grandma's love of plants would have been so helpful, I would have paid more attention to her lessons. If I had, I probably would have found a way to help Sesshoumaru sooner.' _Even if the events had occurred close to twenty years ago, she still felt guilty about not being able to help him at first. Even if they had never told him, she and her husband had been able to hear Sesshoumaru cry in pain at night due to his migraine. The sounds of him hurting alone tore at her heart. As much as she wanted to go comfort the lonely little boy who had been neglected by his mother, she knew better; she seeing him writhing in pain would make too much damage to his pride. Even as a young boy Sesshoumaru had been extremely stubborn and prideful, and she, even then, had known that not taking that into consideration would have ruined their burgeoning relationship.

"You never asked me for the recipe, I can only hope that you are indeed better. Am I right to think Kagura might have something to do with it? I have noticed that your migraines had a tendency to recede when you were happier and more relaxed." Izayoi grinned with a knowing smile.

As much as Sesshoumaru hated the idea of his step mother feeling like she could read him, he refused to reveal to her that the reason he had refused to ask her for her recipe, was not that he was feeling better. In fact it was rather that he hated the idea of asking Izayoi for any kind of assistance. The last thing he wanted was to have to rely on her. During his childhood he had made sure not to, and he did not see why that would be different now.

"As I stated previously, I am doing fine, and you have no need to worry." He reiterated before stepping away from the sink, and grabbing a kitchen towel to wipe his hands off. He then wasted no time hurrying over to the door, eager to gather his family and go home. As usual the dog demon had managed to keep his clothes spotless, so unlike Izayoi, he did not need to towel himself, and set his clothes to right.

"Wait a second, there's something else I want to talk to you about." She interrupted Sesshoumaru when she noticed that the dog demon was walking away, and getting ready to leave.

He turned around, and did his best to keep in the sigh of annoyance he wanted to let out. It was always draining for him to spend time with Izayoi as she never failed to ask questions he did not want to answer. He was sure she would once again manage to worm herself under his icy veneer.

_'From the second I met the woman, I knew she would annoy me… She truly is Inuyasha's mother…' _He thought even as he did as asked, and turned around to face his stepmother.

"What do you want?"

"It just occurred to me that there's something I have been meaning to give you for a long time now." Izayoi fished inside her pocket for a small shiny object. "I have stopped wearing it now, and believe it should come to you as your father would have wanted. It has been passed down in the Takahashi family for a long time after all."

Sesshoumaru knitted his brows as he looked at the gleaming piece of jewelry Izayoi had just taken out of her pocket. Then as he looked at it more carefully, he realized that the ring was familiar.

"It is half of the ring your father gave me when we got married." She explained when she noticed the question clear on his face.

"Half?" He echoed.

"Well it was actually two different rings he had fusion together because I could not pick one of the two." She paused to let out a small chuckle as she remembered how thoughtful her husband was. "I just had a jeweler separate them. After all there are two of you. Following the family tradition, Inuyasha has already given his half to Kagome. Men of the Takahashi family have been offering these rings to their intended for centuries now, and I think it's about time you did too. I had seriously not thought you would find someone you would like to give it to, but I think Kagura would be a more than worthy recipient."

When she extended her hand to give him the ring, he did not hesitate to take it. Ever since it had occurred to him that he had not given Kagura the engagement ring she deserved, he had been looking for a fitting ring, but could not find anything to fit her. He was aware that she would refuse all the rings he would have picked up for her, considering them to be too expensive. However the idea of giving her a family heirloom was very appealing. She may want to protest, but he knew the elegant small silver band incrusted with diamonds would be perfect for her. Not to mention that by giving it to the woman he loved, he would also be honoring his father's memory.

_'If I remember correctly, father did mention that Inuyasha and I would get the rings as part of our inheritance. I did not really pay attention as I never really expected meeting a woman I would want to propose to.' _Sesshoumaru thought to himself as he rolled her delicate ring in between his thumb and forefinger.

Now that he took a closer look at the small piece of jewelry, he even remembered that his father had once talked about the two rings, and their respective names. _'This is the Tenseiga. Well it is indeed much more fitting for Kagura than its ostentatious counterpart the Tetsusaiga. Its gold band and loud assortment of colored jewels would indeed be more to the taste of Inuyasha and Kagome.' _

"I am sure Kagura will love it. Not to mention that the next time you guys run into your mother, seeing Kagura with one of the rings she's wanted for so long will drive her crazy. How I wish I could see the face Asuka will make. " The human woman could remember vividly the look laced with envy and hatred Asuka had given her when she had seen that her former husband had given his new and younger wife both the Tenseiga and Tetsusaiga. No matter how much Sesshoumaru's mother had begged, his father had never agreed to give her the precious rings, and to add insult to injury when they had divorced he had taken back with him every single piece of jewelry he had ever given her.

Even if she was usually a kind hearted woman, Izayoi always made an exception with Asuka, she never considered her husband's first wife to deserve any type of sympathy.

Even if he did not voice it, the dog demon could see the truth in his step mother's words. He could already imagine Kagura wearing the simple ring, and knew it would fit her perfectly.

_'Besides it would indeed show mother once and for all that I do consider Kagura to be my future wife.' _He thought to himself, agreeing with Izayoi.

After giving a quick nod to his step mother, Sesshoumaru walked towards the door. He paused as he was about to walk through it to speak over his shoulder.

"Thank you." He simply said.

She had had to strain her ears to hear his faint murmur, but she had heard him, and that was all that mattered to her. However before she had the time to respond, he had made a quick escape.

_'Ah my dear Taisho, if only you could see how your sons have grown into such wonderful men.' _Izayoi thought as her dark eyes looked at Sesshoumaru's retreating form, a contented smile on her lips.

* * *

"Goodnight mommy." Kanna sighed before rubbing her eyes with her small palm. In answer her mother tucked her blanket higher to reach her chin then leaned forward to press a kiss over Kanna's forehead.

"Goodnight Kanna-chan." The wind sorceress murmured to the sleepy little girl she had just settled in her white crib. "Goodnight to you too Rin." She added addressing the young human already fast asleep in the bed of the guest bedroom the wind sorceress herself used to occupy.

Making sure to make as little noise as possible she backed out of the bedroom the two children shared, turned off the light and closed the door.

"Are they asleep?" She was slightly startled when she heard Sesshoumaru's voice say behind her.

"Yeah, but who can blame them, they had a pretty exhausting day…. By the way I meant to ask you. What did Izayoi want to talk to you about?" She did her best not to sound worried. However it had taken Izayoi and Sesshoumaru so long to wash the dishes that she had the suspicion that something had gone on when the two of them had been alone in the kitchen.

"Unlike what you may think, Izayoi approves of you. In fact the only think we talked about was some family issues having to do with the business." He effortlessly lied to his fiancée. He knew firsthand how upset she had been because of people throwing her past back in her face, and the last thing he wanted was to add to her upset.

"What made you think I was worried?" She asked, doing her best to keep a pout of her lips. She still could not stand the way he so easily managed to see right through her.

"My dear wind witch it has always been very easy for me to read you." He smiled to himself.

"Fine fine. Well since Izayoi didn't use our time in the kitchen to grill me either, so I should've guessed she wouldn't do the same to you. Well I'm exhausted, so how about we go to bed?" She suggested, already making her way towards their bedroom.

He entertained the idea of giving her the Tenseiga engagement ring now, but decided to wait for a more special moment. Unlike his usual self, he actually thought about doing something a little more thoughtful this time around.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Next time there will be a romantic lemony chapter named **A special proposal**. I am sure you can guess what will happen :p


	73. A special proposal

_**Chapter 73: A special proposal**_

A/N: On this very special day I would like to give you a little romance. Hum this celebration reminds me of 'Special Delivery' after all it had all started on a Valentine's Day evening...This chapter will be some sort of interlude before all the drama starts to unravel. I present you guys with a bonus **lemon**... you better enjoy it because it might just be the last one in the story :P

I apologize in advance if there are typos, I lacked time, but still wanted to produce an update as soon as possible.

Thanks once again to all my amazing reviewers. Your continuing words of encouragement are what keeps me writing :)

**Syzhale**

**Rogue Reader **(Not to worry, I have been claiming the end of the story is almost upon us for half a year and we're still not there yet. There's plenty much more to come, and I will take my time delivering it to you)

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25Victor**

**Kagura's number one fan **(Glad to hear from you again. Your wish is my command: there will be plenty of romance in this chapter)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

The wind sorceress inserted her key inside the lock before turning and letting a sigh of relief. She had just gotten home from class, and could not wait to kiss her daughter before putting her to bed, and have a late dinner with Sesshoumaru before they slipped into bed. As unexciting as what she was looking for might sound, it had become a routine she had gotten used to, and could not wait to do.

"I'm home." She yelled as she entered the penthouse. She eagerly put her purse and coat away before slipping out of her shoes, and walking towards the guest bedroom to check on her daughter. She was surprised to find the room empty.

"Are you guys playing hide and seek?" She asked as she walked back through the corridor wondering where her fiancé and daughter could be. She knew they were home as the lights had been on when she had entered the penthouse.

"I am here." She heard a deep voice say behind her, causing her to be startled.

"Oh God! Sesshoumaru don't pop up behind me like that. You scared the hell out of me." She let out a relieved sigh even as she felt a little silly for being spooked. "Where's Kanna? I wanted to kiss her goodnight, but she wasn't in her crib."

She was surprised when she saw a small smile spread on his lips. "Let's just say she is having a small impromptu sleepover at Inuyasha's house."

"Not that I mind, but I wished you would have told me before sending her off. Oh well she'll have fun… In the meantime it seems like it's going to be just you and me tonight."

Sesshoumaru's golden eyes followed her as she walked towards the master bedroom, and he once again smiled as he internally gloated over the plan he had hatched.

Kagura was slightly surprised by the unusual way Sesshoumaru was acting, but did not think much of it. Even though it was not his habit not to tell her the whereabouts of Kanna beforehand, she was sure it was due to a fact out of his control.

_'Knowing Inuyasha, he probably promised Shippou a sleepover then forgot to call us in advance to schedule it…' _

She was so busy thinking about the dog demon that it took her a moment to notice the beautiful red dress draped over their bed. A look of surprise on her face, she took it in her arms for a closer look.

"What is the meaning of this?" She turned around to face Sesshoumaru who had just walked inside the room.

"I would like you to get changed, we are going out…" He interrupted himself to look at his watch. "In thirty minutes. Therefore unless you wish to be late, you should start getting ready now."

Then as she noticed that Sesshoumaru had also placed what seemed to be a new tuxedo on the bed she asked him "Where exactly are we going?"

"I am surprised that you seem willing to go this quickly. I had anticipated your refusal."

"I did not say I was going." She retorted, placing the beautiful satin gown back on the comforter before resuming speaking. "My finals are soon, so I need to study. Plus I'm really tired, and I truly only want to go to bed right now."

"And miss the surprise I have planned, I think not. Collect the dress, and put it on otherwise I will leave without you in 28 minutes." The dog demon had barely finished speaking that he headed towards the bed, and started getting ready.

She silently yet curiously watched him as he first undressed then slipped on his new garment.

_'He is such an infuriating man!' _She thought to herself even as Sesshoumaru's mysterious plan had her curiosity picked. No matter how much she wanted to resist him, she knew that in the end she would give in.

"Fine fine. I will put the dress, and follow you wherever. But don't expect me to do my hair, makeup or whatever…" The wind sorceress sighed, and wasted no time taking off her sweater then pair of jeans.

As much as she wanted to pretend not to care much about her appearance, despite the lack of time Sesshoumaru had given her before leaving, she did take the time to not only brush her hair up in a ponytail, but also apply some light make up.

It had not taken him long for him to put on his shirt, vest, jacket and shoes, so he used the remainder of his time to look at Kagura rushing around to get ready, mild amusement clear in his gaze.

Her acceptance caused a tiny satisfied smile to spread on his lips. He knew her well enough to anticipate that she would have caved in the end, but seeing her comply despite her earlier reluctance was a source of amusement.

"You have five minutes left wind witch, if I were you, I would hurry." He informed her.

Instead of voicing her annoyance, the wind sorceress simply looked away from the mirror in which she was looking at herself while applying her trademark red lipstick, to send Sesshoumaru a fierce glare. Her reaction made him smile again.

As soon as she finished applying her makeup, the wind sorceress reached inside the closet to fish out a pair of heeled shoes. She did not know where they were going, which only made her choice even harder. However seeing how the dog demon had made the effort to buy her a new dress, she was sure he would take her somewhere in public. This meant that she would make sure to do him proud, and look as nicely as possible.

_'I really have no idea what shoes to put on right now…'_

Instead of continuing to rummage aimlessly through her shoes, she decided to ask him for a little bit of help. Kagura paused in her search, and sat back on her haunches, turning her head to the side to look at her lover. "So where exactly are we going? If I knew it would help me decide which shoes to wear…"

"Hum just try to look your best…" He first said, but then realizing that his words would probably not be much help, he then added "Simply wear something to go with the dress."

The wind sorceress did not answer, and instead scoffed before muttering under her breath about idiotic dog demons.

"Next time you want to buy me a dress think about the shoes I have. I guess shoes are a detail often looked over by you men... I mean, I don't really have any shoes that will fit this gown." Even though her words came out muffled due to her being on her knees, and having her head buried inside the closet, he still heard her clearly.

"I had thought about shoes, but figured that you would already be upset enough about getting a new dress, and did not want to make things worse by adding shoes on the bill. Although I must admit that you have indeed been extremely accommodating tonight, to this Sesshoumaru's surprise." His golden eyes watched the wind sorceress as she crawled out from the closet.

"You make me sound like a two year old throwing a tantrum! I'm not that bad. Besides things are different know. At first I was uncomfortable about owing you for buying me all that stuff, but now I'm not that unsecure about our relationship." She said as she sat on the bed, and put on the black heeled pumps she had settled her mind on. They may not exactly fit with the dress she was wearing, but they would have to do, she decided.

The dog demon did not speak a word. He was still surprised by Kagura's earlier admission. He knew first hand that because of her past, she had had a lot of issues about accepting gifts, or having people, especially men, spend money on her. However hearing her admit that she no longer felt the need to reject anything _he_ would buy her made him feel special, and made him truly realize how much she trusted and loved him.

"Your time is up. If you do not find yourself in my car in the next thirty seconds, I will drive away without you." Without waiting for her answer, he quickly left the room, and headed towards the door of the penthouse.

"You're such a jerk!" She exclaimed even as she sat up from the bed, and followed after the dog demon. She had thought that Sesshoumaru was already on his way to the elevator therefore it came to a total surprise to her when she bumped into his broad back. She had been running, aiming to catch up to him, and had not anticipated for him to be waiting for her.

"Are you alright?" He asked turning around to look down at the woman who had just literally run into him.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm sorry, I thought you had left me behind." She said, gently caressing her poor nose, which had gotten bruised when she had bumped head first into the dog demon's strong back.

"I would never leave you behind." He assured her. He then reached for her, and removed her hand from her nose to look at it. She was slightly surprised when the leaned forward to press a kiss to the top of the offended organ. Before she had had the time to react, he had already turned around and walked away.

"Now hurry unless you want to be left behind wind witch." He said before opening the front door of the penthouse.

"Didn't you just say you would wait? Ugh you're so annoying sometimes!" She cursed under her breath even as she rushed to fall into step with him. Her previous reluctance to go with him was now all gone, and had been replaced by a burning curiosity to know what he had in store for her.

* * *

The wind sorceress allowed her crimson eyes to look around the long corridor she and Sesshoumaru were walking through. The moment he had handed the keys of his car to the valet of the Imperial Hotel, she had been surprised. She knew that the restaurant of the hotel was very famous, and was looking forward to having a fancy dinner. However her anticipation at the idea of a nice meal was crushed when Sesshoumaru had walked straight to one of the elevators, which had taken the two of them to the top floor of the hotel. As far as she knew the top floor was only comprised of hotel suites, which did not fit into the idea she had of what Sesshoumaru had planned for the evening.

"I thought we were going to dinner? There was no need to drag me all the way to a hotel for that." She said casually, hoping to get him to reveal his plan.

"Do not ask question, and keep walking, we will be there in a second." He did not even bother to turn around to look at her when he spoke these words.

Just as she was about to berate him, he stopped in front of a set of wide double doors.

"Here we are." He fished out his wallet, and retrieved a key card from it. He then used it to unlock the doors, and stepped inside, turning on lights as he went on.

"What was so special that you had to… oh!" As she walked inside the hotel suite, she completely forgot what she was about to say. Her crimson eyes travelled all around the room, shinning in amazement.

On the plush white carpet were scattered red rose petals, and pink paper flowers. Small colored tea lights were leading the way towards a beautifully set dinner table.

"Did you do all this?" She asked, still under shock.

"Kanna and Rin made some of the paper flowers, they wanted to do something nice for you. When it comes to the rest of the decorations, I enlisted the help of Kiriko, and she seems to have gone a little over board…" He commented dryly, a frown on his face even as he pushed away a pink paper flower with the tip of his shoe.

His words brought tear of joy to her eyes. It explained better what their two little girls had been working on the previous evening. While Kagura had been studying for her coming finals in the living room with the help of her fiancé, Kanna and Rin had hid in the guest bedroom of the penthouse. She had guessed the two children were doing some sort of arts and crafts because on several occasions Sesshoumaru had interrupted their studying session to provide the two children with a steady supply of colored paper, glue and other materials. Their mother had inferred they had been doing some sort of collage, but she now saw how wrong she had been. The idea of Sesshoumaru relying on their two daughters and his secretary in order to surprise her really moved the wind sorceress. She knew better than anyone how much Sesshoumaru liked doing things by himself.

"Personally I think it's adorable. I'm surprised you went through all this trouble." She walked forward to look at the entire room. She could not prevent a laugh from escaping her throat when she noticed that Kiriko had seemed to indeed take things a bit too far. In fact the small dining table which had been set up for two was completely covered with colored ribbons, which even hid the utensils and flower arrangement.

"I believe we deserved a break." He reached over her to remove some of the red ribbons placed on the table, and threw them on the spotless carpet. His action uncovered the plates, which were hidden under small metal food covers.

"Sesshoumaru I really appreciate the effort, thank you." She turned around to quickly press an unexpected kiss to his lips before addressing him again. "I am really starving though."

"Good, why don't we eat?" He barely finished talking that he reached for one of the two chairs, and invited Kagura to sit on it. He then rounded the small table, and sat across from her.

"Hum I can't wait to find out what's for dinner." She smiled at him before removing the cover from her plate. Her mouth turned into a small 'o' of surprise when she saw that unlike what she had expected, her plate was composed of small bite sized desserts. Her mouth watered as she ogled the fruits tarts, cakes and even a tin of chocolate mousse.

"Dessert for dinner?" She asked him, an eyebrow raised in surprise, and a mischievous grin dancing on her lips.

"You have no reason to worry about setting a bad example. Kanna and Rin will not know." He smiled back at her as he too uncovered his own plate, which unlike hers comprised of a rare steak accompanied by mixed greens. She was not surprised to see that he would be eating something different. After all she knew too well that her fiancé did not share her sweet tooth.

"Hum it all feels so decadent." She immediately picked up her spoon, and grabbed a first sweet confection, eager to dig in.

_'Good everything has gone on perfectly so far.' _He smiled to himself, his golden eyes following her as she dived into the chocolate mousse with gusto.

* * *

"Ugh I am as stuffed as a pig. I shouldn't have eaten all my food plus your dessert. It's just that seeing all this uneaten food annoyed me." Kagura murmured as she burrowed her face against her lover's side. The two of them were seating on a loveseat, cuddling close.

"You have no need to make up an excuse… I have long ago realized you have quite the... strong and healthy appetite." He gently teased her.

"Ha ha that was so not funny." She retorted before giving him a light punch in the ribs.

"The truth often is not." He assured her before hooking a finger under her chin, effectively raising her lips to a height fit for his taking.

She chuckled against his lips before responding to his kiss hungrily. Kagura opened her mouth, and welcomed his invasion more than happily. The tongues of the two demons gently tangled as their kiss deepened. Even as their lips met, he allowed his hands to trail over her sides, gently going up to graze the underside of her cleavage.

"I want you." He growled when they finally broke apart for much needed air. He gently pressed kisses on her lips then travelled down to her neck. In an effortless gesture he took down her hair from the ponytail she had tied it into, and ran his claws through her long curly dark tresses.

"Me too." She breathed out. There was nothing she wanted more right now than to make love with Sesshoumaru.

As soon as he heard her words, he wasted no time standing up from the loveseat, and scooping her in his arms before quickly heading towards the large bedroom of their hotel luxury suite. He did not even waste time turning on the main lights, and simply walked inside the dark room before gently putting Kagura on the soft bed. The small lamp located on the side table would provide him with all the light he would need.

The dog demon immediately started working on getting himself undressed. He firstly slipped off his jacket and carelessly threw it away in one of the dark corners of the room. He then unbuttoned his vest and flung it aside as well. The wind sorceress would have helped him along, but decided to sit back and simply enjoy the show. She observed him with anticipation, a warm flush on her cheeks. She took in a deep breath when her lover took off his shirt, revealing his flawless pale skin. However it was when he took off his expensive trousers and boxers that her heart started beating faster.

His naked form joined her on the bed, and he pressed her clothed body as close to his as possible.

"I think that the only reason you bought me this dress was so that you could take if off me, so I'll let you do the honors." She smiled up at him.

"How considerate my love." He responded before doing as instructed. He wasted no time starting working on getting her equally naked. He took his time revealing her skin to his eager eyes. He firstly removed the red cool material from her shoulder before pressing a kiss to her smooth skin.

He quickly undid the side zipper of her bright red dress revealing her almost naked body. At that moment he was glad that the dress he had chosen did not allow for her to wear a bra unless it was strapless, and since the dog demon had rushed her, she had decided to forgo wearing a bra altogether, for which he was grateful. When he removed the sleek red garment, he was only greeted by creamy naked skin, and a small pair of black panties, which he wasted no time throwing away on the growing pile of clothes at the foot of their bed.

"Come over here." She instructed him before taking a hold of a strand of his long silver hair, and bringing his head closer to hers. Sesshoumaru moved his body over hers, and pressed a kiss to her lips as she wanted. To her annoyance before she could deepen their kiss, he moved his lips away, having them travel down her face, then her neck, and finally rest on her breast.

She moaned appreciatively when Sesshoumaru suckled hard on her nipple, but then let out a small cry when he gently nibbled it. He then went on to press kisses down her stomach, and she knew exactly what he was going to do, and her response was to start squirming in anticipation.

Just as she expected, Sesshoumaru continued his kisses downwards to the top of her thighs. He then moved in between her legs, and pressed an open mouth kiss to her womanhood. She shivered in pleasure when he ran his tongue over the bundle of nerves hidden, and gasped loudly when he inserted two long fingers inside of her, mimicking an action he would be making with another part of his body shortly.

She bit her bottom lip, in fear of letting out a loud cream. The last thing she wanted was for the people in the room next to them to hear their lovemaking; unlike in their penthouse she was not sure how soundproof the walls were. She arched her hips in pure pleasure before grabbing a nearby pillow, and crushing it to her breasts, causing it to muffle her passionate cries.

The dog demon growled lowly in his throat then paused in his ministrations, and removed his head from between her spread legs.

"Oh no! Please don't stop!" She cried out. Instead of answering his lover, he reached up to yank the pillow from her grasp, and threw it off the bed.

"I want to hear every single moan and cry of pleasure you let out." He let her know before diving back, and working her even more aggressively. Even while he was talking he had not stopped caressing her with his fingers; therefore, when he had his tongue join in again, it did not take Kagura long to reach her peak.

He chuckled slightly when he felt her shudder against him. There was nothing he liked more than providing her with pleasure. He came to his knees in front of her ready to take things one step further.

She looked up at him through half closed eyes while doing her best to regain her breath after her amazing climax.

"Hum I don't think I'll be able to move for a little while longer…" She informed him breathlessly. As much as she wanted to reach for him, and return the pleasure he had just brought upon her, she knew she did not have the necessary strength just yet.

He responded by smiling before laying his body over hers, resting in between her legs.

"Not to worry, I will do the moving for you." He murmured in her ear just as he slowly sheathed himself inside her.

Sesshoumaru paused once her surged into her. He took his time to enjoy their connection then as he had promised earlier he did not wait for her to start thrusting in her willing body. The dog demon gently used his right hand to caress the skin of her left leg before raising the limb slightly, and hooking it over his own leg to enable him to move deeper.

He slowly made one deep thrust, gently rolling his hips. Even as his instincts screamed at him to increase his speed, he took his time; he wanted to make sure Kagura would enjoy their encounter as much as he did.

Before the wind sorceress, it had never occurred to him to work so hard to ensure that the woman he was with would feel pleasure. Previously he had not been emotionally attached enough to his partners to care much about their experience of their coupling. Whether he had known the women for a long time, such as Touran, or had just met them at a bar, it was all the same to him. Of course as his pride commanded, he would always make sure the women he was with enjoyed themselves to a minimum. In fact nothing boosted his ego more than having a woman in the throes of passion scream his name. However things were very different with Kagura; he was actually more concerned with her pleasure than with his own.

"Hum Sesshoumaru." Her gentle moan against his ear caused a shiver of pleasure to run down his spine, and encouraged him to move faster. To ensure that she was going to reach bliss before he did, he trailed his clawed hand down to reach for the small pearl hidden in the folds of her womanhood. He gently rubbed it using his fingers, the same way he had done earlier with his tongue.

The wind sorceress arched her back, and cried out in pleasure when she climaxed again. She clung to his body tighter, wanting in her pleasure haze to be as close to him as possible. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, and kept himself back. He steeled himself against his release, gritting his teeth with the effort. In order for his plan to work just as he wanted, he needed to have her be pleasurably exhausted, and to do so he wanted to make love to her some more. In order to fulfill his goal, he reluctantly slipped out of her body.

Sesshoumaru flipped her over, and she slowly rose up to her knees, presenting herself to him. Ever since he had finally accepted his youkai side, it was not uncommon for him to take her in this position, and she was always more than willing to comply.

Without any delay he entered her body again, and resumed his thrusting. She was so overly sensitive due to their previous activities that to her own shock she climaxed again in no time. This time no matter how much Sesshoumaru wanted to hold back, he was not able to. As soon as Kagura shuddered against him, he grabbed her hips tightly, and came as well. As he let his control slip, he felt his claws scrap the side of her hips, but was still lucid enough to remember to loosen his hold on her lest he injure her. Even if due to their recent couplings he knew that she was strong and more than able to handle him he still did his best not to harm her in any way.

Just when he finished emptying his seed inside her willing body, the two of them fell on their side in a tangle of sweaty bodies and limbs.

"I don't know what got into you…but damn that was amazing" She panted. "I am so exhausted though." She sighed even as she crawled up the bed to rest her head against his chest.

"Then why don't you sleep for now? I will wake you up in a little bit." He assured her before pressing a kiss to her temple.

"A little bit?" She echoed before letting out a mocking snort. "Are you sure you will be able to perform as desired?" She gently teased him.

"Since when do you doubt this Sesshoumaru?" He shot back. She chuckled slightly in response, but then could not muster the strength to continue their banter, and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Unlike what she had expected, it was not Sesshoumaru's gentle kisses that woke up Kagura, but a sharp pain in her finger. Due to the small light coming from the side table she was able to see none other than Sesshoumaru hunched over her hand.

"What are you doing?" She murmured voice heavy with sleep, and surprise clear in her voice. He only responded with a string of curses; something so unusual for him.

"Nothing, it will just take a second…" She cried out when he tugged on her finger. Despite his reassuring words, she did not hesitate to take her left hand away from him. She brought the limb closer to her crimson gaze, and was surprised to see a small silver band placed on her finger. The only problem with the piece of jewelry was that despite Sesshoumaru's best efforts, it had not been able to go down her finger.

"Is that what I think it is?" She asked incredulous, her widened eyes rived on the band placed on her ring finger. The look of guilt and discomfort present on Sesshoumaru's face told her everything she wanted to know.

"You were supposed to wake up, and find it on your finger. Unfortunately it seems I may have miscalculated…" He admitted. While Kagura was still sleeping, he had attempted to secretly slip the ring Izayoi had given him, Tenseiga, on his fiancée's finger. Unfortunately unlike what he had imagined, he had not been able to put the ring on Kagura's finger. And when he realized that the ring was not fitted for her size, he had tried taking it off, which had not worked either.

"This is the first and last time this Sesshoumaru will do anything this _romantic_." He swore. The way he spit out the last word let Kagura know exactly how vexed he was that his plan had not worked out.

"I sure hope not. A woman does need to be romanced by her husband once in a while. Where did you get that ring? It's beautiful… even though it's stuck on my finger." She momentarily ignored the throbbing of pain present in her finger to smile at her lover. It was unusual for him to show his affection in such romantic ways, and the last thing she wanted was to make him feel uncomfortable. She of course was more than aware of the depth of his feelings for her, but seeing him show it through a gesture or action was always a major plus.

"It is a family heirloom; women of my family have been wearing it for over 500 years. Izayoi just handed it to me, so do not even think of refusing the ring." He could tell that Kagura was glad about his gift, but wanted to make sure she would keep it. Knowing her, he was never really sure how she would react.

"I wasn't planning on doing that. It's truly beautiful, and it will be an honor to wear it. However I need to take it off right now, or I have a feeling blood will stop circulating in my finger for good." Even as she finished speaking, the wind sorceress started carefully tugging the ring. However despite her efforts it would still not budge.

"How did you stick the damn thing on the middle of my finger?" She asked him thinking _'Knowing his stubborn streak, I am sure that when he noticed that the ring had trouble going down my finger, he simply obstinate himself, and forced the damn thing on.'_

Sesshoumaru, who prided himself on doing everything well was upset to have botched his proposal, he therefore decided that the least he could do was to help his wife to be remove the ring he had slipped on her finger earlier. Therefore a scowl still present on his face he took her hand, and tried getting the band off himself. Kagura's sudden cry of pain made him stop his efforts.

"Are you trying to tear off my finger?" She said trying to take her hand away from his hold.

"I will have it off in a second." He retorted, ignoring her efforts to tug her hand away from him.

"Stay away from me! She jumped off the bed, heedless of her nakedness, and headed to the bathroom. "There must be some lotion or soap in here that I can use to get that thing off." She simply told him as means of explanation.

He was about to go help her when she let out a cry of triumph. He was not surprised when she strode back inside the room with a bright smile on her lips, and the small silver ring cradled in the palm of her hand.

"See all it needed was a bit of lubricant, not brute strength! My ring finger's a little bruised, but I don't think it was hurt too badly. I should be fine come morning... Let's just be grateful for complimentary soap in hotel bathrooms."

"I am sorry." He quickly apologized.

"Don't worry, I'll survive. Although it's really a pity I can't wear this ring, I really do like it." She looked at the object wistfully.

"Do not worry about it; I will have Toutousai enlarge it. I should have anticipated such a thing occurring. After all Izayoi is much thinner than you are." He said baffled that the difference in size in the two women had not in his mind been considered as an important factor.

She decided to let the comment about her difference in weight with his step mother slide, only because earlier in the night Sesshoumaru had proven more than enough time how much he loved her body just the way it was. Moreover she was much more interested in something else he had said.

"Toutousai?" She gasped. "As in the senile old man who is the manager of our building? You mean to tell me he's a master youkai blacksmith?"

"As incredible as it may sound, it is true. He has crafted many swords and other youkai artifacts for my father."

"Wow. Well he is quite handy with a wrench... I mean he did manage to fix the dish washer extremely quickly." She reflected, remembering when she had just met the dog demon, and had enlisted Toutousai's help to bring back Sesshoumaru's penthouse in good working order.

"He also knows how to obtain rare youkai materials, so I am sure he will be able to have your ring ready in no time." He took back the piece of jewelry, and placed it back in the velvet box he had purchased for it before putting in down on the side table.

"Even though you know how material stuff don't really matter much to me, I must admit I am glad about getting an engagement ring… it just makes this whole marriage thing even more real…"

"Did you doubt my word?" He asked clearly hurt. It almost occurred to him to remind her how she had rolled her eyes, and scoffed at him when only a few days ago he had once again asked her to sign the papers his lawyer Myouga had prepared in order to make Kagura, Kanna and Rin his heirs. Of course the dog demon did not wish to tell his fiancée about his irrational fear about something bad happening. Despite his quiet insistence Kagura had refused to even look at the papers, and in exchange Sesshoumaru had therefore decided to put things in the works for their wedding.

"No! Of course not." She told him before cradling his face in her hands, and pressing a small kiss to his lips. "I love you so much, and I know you feel the same."

"As long as you remember it." He told her before reciprocating her earlier kiss with one of his own, destined to her forehead. "Now let us go back to bed; I promised Kanna that we would pick her up early to go get breakfast. She was quite disappointed to miss the whole proposal…"

"She knew about your plan all along? I can't believe she managed to keep this whole thing a secret from me." Kagura pouted. She was glad to see that Sesshoumaru and Kanna got along well, but it was still a shock to her to see how close they had truly become.

"She is turning into a real daddy's girl." He said proudly.

"Hum wait until we have a boy, he will be on my team." She joked, a smile tugging at her lips.

"This Sesshoumaru doubts such a thing would occur, but you are free to try Mrs. Takahashi to be." He chuckled before turning off the side lamp and settling back under the covers of the bed. Kagura eagerly following his example.

_'Mrs. Kagura Takahashi. Sure beats that crappy name of Onigumo…' _She thought as he allowed her lover to cradle her closer to his body in his strong arms.

* * *

The spider hanyou looked down at the woman seating on the bed next to him. She was removing her dress, getting ready to bear her body for his pleasure. However the expression on her face was more similar to one seen on a prisoner's face as he was led to the gallows.

Although the hanyou usually thrived on seeing other people's pain and suffering, the terror present on the young woman's face was not enough to arouse him. Ever since he had lost most of his businesses, and that almost of all his partners had ended in either jail, or had fled the country, he was finding it difficult to find pleasure.

"Enough you useless woman. You even fail to arouse me." He spat at her angrily before giving her a sharp punch, causing her to bounce of the bed, and fall ungracefully to the ground.

"I am sorry, please forgive me master." The young woman sobbed in fear. Even if the dark half demon's brothel had officially closed its doors, he still had managed to keep some of his girls due to blackmail, and the young beauty kneeling at his feet, prostrated in fear, was one of the poor unfortunate women. She nervously tucked a strand of pale blond hair behind her ear, and an idea suddenly struck the half demon.

"Mayumi, I have a job for you."

"Really master Naraku?" She tried feigning eagerness, but failed miserably. The last thing she wanted was to have to sexually please another disgusting old man. However she was willing to do anything to make Naraku happy, and prevent him from delivering blows on her. Or worse hurt her elderly mother who was her only living relative.

"Do not look so displeased, it will involve acting and a little field trip, I am sure you will love it." Even as he spoke the words, Naraku could see the final pieces of his plan coming together.

"It will be an honor to serve you again master." She said her rehearsed line as she massaged the fresh bruise his earlier punch had left on her slender arm.

* * *

Sesshoumaru suddenly jolted awake. He looked down at Kagura, and was relieved to see she was still soundly sleeping, her head placed on his shoulder, and her body tangled with his. Hoping not to wake her up, he raised his head from his pillow, and looked inside their dark hotel room. Noticing that nothing was amiss, he could not help but scoff at his own foolishness.

He could not tell what had happened to make him feel suddenly uneasy to the point of waking him up, and despite how silly he knew he was for feeling this way, he could not help but worry. Just as it had been doing recently, he felt a sense of impending doom spread through him.

_'There is no need to be worried. Nothing is wrong.'_ He tried reassuring himself, hoping to make his racing heart beat go down.

He silently watched over the sleeping form of his lover, who was snuggled next to his body. He gently ran his clawed hand down the column of her neck, reveling in her soft skin. He still had a hard time believing how he, Sesshoumaru, the dog demon who a little less than a year ago could not even stand the idea of going out and socializing, had changed so much. He now not only spent time with his family, but actually enjoyed it.

_'I have changed so much in so little time, and it is all because of the witch.' _He mused to himself even as he leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to her temple causing the wind sorceress to moan appreciatively in her sleep, and he to chuckle.

In fact he was now to be a husband, and a father to two young girls, something he had never even thought would happen to him. Of course he knew that at some point it would be expected of him to get married and beget children, but he had never imagined it would not only happen to him this quickly, or that he would actually enjoy it this much.

Even as he laid there, his fiancée's body lying next to him, he could not help but experience once again a feeling of foreboding. He had originally thought that his unease had been because of Sousuke Yamashita's attack, but even now that the snake demon was behind bars, and for a long time, he still felt a feeling of dread run down his spine; the impression that something horrible was going to befall his family.

Only thinking about it, the dog demon could feel a migraine coming, but because he had Kagura so close to his body, he knew that the action of him moving would surely awake her; something he wanted to avoid. He therefore simply lay back against the pillows of his bed, and simply snaked his arm around her waist, causing her to slide even closer to his form.

_'Whatever happens, I will protect my family.' _He thought to himself, ignoring the pain pounding in his head, and hugging his Kagura closer to his body.

**To be continued...**

A/N: Next time things will really accelerate. The next chapter will be named **Unfolding plan**.


	74. Unfolding Plan

_**Chapter 74: Unfolding plan**_

A/N: Let's do this. Onwards to the End! To think that the story is almost two years old O.O Thanks guys for bearing with me so long!

A special thanks to the people who have been reading this behemoth of a story and/or put it on their favorite/alert list(s). You guys all keep me writing! Special mention to my dear reviewers:

**Syzhale**

**Rogue Reader **(Your feelings must have been shared by Sesshoumaru. He definitely had not anticipated so much mush. Mayumi's role should be revealed by… next chapter I think.)

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25Victor**

**BlackBurningHeart **(Always a pleasure to get new readers!)

**DeathAngel69**

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

Kagura Onigumo, soon to be Takahashi, walked eagerly down the corridors of the History department. Now that she was finally and officially done with the history class she was taking that semester, the one thing she wanted the most was to celebrate with her loved ones.

"How did it go?" A male voice suddenly asked behind her. She turned around and saw none other than Yoshi, a young male student who had been enrolled in the history class she had been taking. Just as she had she knew that the young man had struggled with their class. Only he, unlike her had not had the help of Sesshoumaru.

"Well better than expected." She answered his question and smiled. She was happy to see that the intense studying session she had had the night before with her fiancé had been helpful after all.

"Ugh lucky you. It will be a miracle if I manage to get a D in that class..." He sighed then added. "At least now we have a break before classes start again. I'm going away with my girl, so at least that's something to look forward to."

"Good for you." She answered meekly, slightly surprised. During the entire semester, she had been witness to his lecherous ways as he had not failed to ask every cute woman in the class, including Kagura, out on a date.

"Enjoy your break!" He waved to her before walking away in the opposite direction.

"I will." She answered this time in a more convincing way. She this time around was telling the truth after all. No one would be gladder than her to be able to enjoy some much deserved free time with her family.

Just as the idea struck her, she quickly fished out her cell phone from her purse, and made quick use of the speed dial, before patiently waiting for _him _to pick up the phone.

"Kagura." Just as she heard his deep voice say her name, she could not prevent a pleased smile from gracing her lips.

"Hello Sesshoumaru. A good afternoon to you too." She mocked his usual lack of a proper greeting. "I just have something to ask you. What are you doing... and before your mind starts wandering, this is not a dirty phone call."

"Working." He answered succinctly, causing her to roll her eyes. She did wonder if she had not heard disappointment in his voice due to her earlier precision.

"I figured you'd day that. The thing is that I finished taking my final, and I'm sure you will be glad to know that all went well."

"I sure hope so considering the amount of time we have spent studying it as of late." He remarked.

"For which I am very grateful honey. Now I just want to go celebrate and have fun. Why don't I go pick up Kanna at the day care, then we join you at the office before going out for ice cream. I miss that ice cream parlor down the block. I used to go there every week when I still worked at the agency." She remembered fondly.

"As appealing as this may sound, I am about to have a meeting with a new client."

"Oh that's right. You mentioned that yesterday during our cramming session... Kozue I think you said his name was."

"As sharp as ever my dear. Why don't you take Kanna out for ice cream, and I will see if I can join you later on. If not I will see you at home."

"Okay... too bad you're going to miss out on delicious strawberry ice cream with caramel sauce, you workaholic." She gently teased him. She was more than aware that the man he was now would rather go have a sweet snack with his family than spend time with his clients.

"You can tell me all about it tonight." He did his best not to voice his distaste at her choice of frozen treat. Even if Kagura had helped broaden his taste in food, he was still not that into sweet food... unless they had been made by his fiancée of course.

"Don't doubt that I will. Talk to you later." She hung up the phone, and headed straight out of the building and towards the bus stop.

* * *

The wind sorceress walked on the paved street tightening her red woolen scarf around her neck. The weather was quite windy and a little chilly, and she therefore thought about reconsidering her choice of a snack.

_'Well I guess our ice cream break will be followed by a nice warm bath as soon as we go home. I wouldn't want Kanna to catch a cold...' _She thought, glad of her decision even as she reached the gates of the small daycare.

She may have not been the one who usually dropped off and picked up Kanna, but she had been the one who had enrolled the little girl in the facility. She therefore knew where to go. She even remembered Sesshoumaru mentioning a side entrance on the left side of the building, which was where parents could pick up their children early, or drop them when they were late.

She knocked on the bright red door, and waited for someone to answer.

"How may I help you?" A gray haired woman with a bright comforting smile on her face asked even as she opened the door.

"I'm just here to pick up my daughter. I know it is earlier than usual, but I'm sure that it won't be a problem." The wind sorceress smiled back.

"No of course not. May I ask the name of your little angel?"

"Kanna Onigumo." Even as the words left her lips, Kagura could not help but think that one thing she was really looking forward to when she and Sesshoumau would get married was changing her and their daughter's last name. 'Kanna Takahashi' just sounded better to her ear.

"Oh so you are the lucky lady married with the handsome silver haired man. Every time I see your husband I wish I was thirty years younger." The older day care owner let out a small girlish giggle that grated on the younger woman's nerves.

Kagura forced a stiff smile on her lips before answering "Yes I am indeed lucky. Can I see my daughter now?"

The smile fell off the older woman's face; she had not liked the frosty and annoyed tone of Kagura's voice. "I am afraid that is not possible." She replied stiffly in turn.

"What do you mean?" Kagura snapped. She was close to losing her temper, but did her best to keep it all in check.

"Someone already came to pick her up."

"_Someone_?" Kagura echoed. "Was it Sesshoumaru? The man who usually picks up Kanna?" She asked even if she was sure it was not the case. Other than the fact that the dog demon had affirmed her he was too busy to go out for a snack with them, she knew that he would tell her if he was going to pick up their daughter.

'_The again lately he's been into surprises and stuff, so it might just be a plan of his...' _She thought remembering with a smile the setup he had put together for his proposal.

"No it was a woman. She said she was related to you."

"And you just believed her?" The wind sorceress groaned angrily. She did not have that many relatives, and on the paperwork she had filed with the day care had not cited anyone other than she herself, Sesshoumaru, and reluctantly Jaken as being allowed to pick up Kanna.

"You demons all look alike to me, plus she had pale hair just like your daughter, and carried a mirror with her as well..."

The older woman's words both infuriated Kagura, but also let her guess that it was her mother, Sakura Fujibayashi, who had picked up Kanna.

_'I don't know why she would do that, but for all I know it could be all part of some of Sessh's plans...' _Without even taking the time to say goodbye to the old woman, the wind sorceress turned on her heels, and headed back towards the bus stop. Her new found family members lived ways away from downtown, and she did not want to waste any more time.

"What a rude little brat. I wonder what that handsome young man sees in her." The day care owner scoffed under her breath as her sharp eyes looked at Kagura's form moving away quickly.

"I would not know myself." A deep silky voice said behind her. The old woman turned around and was not surprised to see none other than her latest employee standing behind her, a broom in his hands. Ever since she had hired him, it was not uncommon for the younger half demon to trail behind her, which of course flattered her.

"Young women these days you know..." He trailed off, his crimson eyes bright with mirth.

"I sure hope that you have taught your daughter better."

"Of course I did. Say, would it be alright if I left early today? I have some errands to do. It is almost my granddaughter's birthday, and I would like to get her a nice present."

"It would be just fine with me. Get the little girl something nice." She smiled even as she walked past him, and went back to the playroom where the children were happily playing. As she turned her back to him, she missed the broad smile which adorned his pale thin lips.

* * *

"Where have I put my glasses?" Morio grumbled. He hated having to wear them, but really needed them to read, and could not find the damned things.

"Old man. Stop grumbling and look under the couch, this is where they were last time." His wife pointed out. The two demons were settled inside the comfortable library in their opulent mansion. They had been about to settle down to spend some time reading while cuddling, but the illusion demon had been unable to find his reading aids.

"Who are you calling an old man?" He retorted even as he followed his better half's advice and crouched to look for the thin silver glasses under the large red couch.

Just as Sakura was about to chuckle after seeing her husband emerge from under the piece of furniture with his lost glasses clutched in his hand, the sound of their doorbell chiming resonated through the house.

"Oh blast, who could it be?" Morio grumbled as he got to his feet.

"Blast?" She echoed a teasing smile on her lips. "Only elderly people use this expression. Now why don't you go deal with whoever it is while I turn on the fireplace? You would think that the one day I am able to keep you home with me and away from your office we would at least get some peace, but no!"

Morio smiled and left his wife at her ranting. He decided to quickly go see to their impromptu visitor before joining Sakura.

He ran down the stairs, and in no time opened the door. He was surprised when Kagura bolted inside past him.

"Kagura? What a surprise. Your mother did not mention you would be stopping by." He grinned broadly at the sight of his step daughter. "I'll go call Sakura, she's upstairs, then ask cook to bring some tea in the living room."

"No need to trouble yourself. I just stopped by to pick up Kanna. We'll be out of your way in no time. I'm sure you've had enough of her for one day." Kagura said even as her crimson eyes rested on the staircase. Usually when Kagura came to pick up her daughter at the Fujibayashi household, as soon as she sensed her mother's presence, Kanna would rush down the stairs to greet her.

"Although it is always a pleasure to look after Kanna, we didn't get her today."

"What?" The wind sorceress gasped in incomprehension.

"Morio I heard voices, who is it?" Sakura asked as she came down the stairs as well. Her worried expression changed to a warm smile when she saw none other than her daughter standing next to her husband "Kagura, honey what a delightful surprise." The older demoness said as she joined her other two family members.

Sakura enveloped her daughter in a tight hug before giving her the chance to even speak. Then as she let Kagura go, the older woman noticed the worry present in the crimson eyes which mirrored hers perfectly.

"Honey what's the matter?"

"Kagura came looking for Kanna. She thought she might be here." Her husband supplied, still a little confused.

"I do not have a session with her today... Were we supposed to go fetch her for you?" Sakura asked, with furrowed brows. She was sure that neither she nor her husband would ever forget such a request from Kagura. Sakura had worked hard to gain her daughter's trust, and would not jeopardize it for anything in the world.

"No... I..." Kagura started, unable to string words together in a proper sentence. A feeling of unease crept inside her. The second she had left the day care, she had known something was wrong, and now she felt her fears were confirmed.

"Honey, talk to me please. You're worrying me." Hearing her mother's pleading and worry etched voice caused Kagura to push away her thoughts, and answer.

"I went to pick up Kanna at her daycare, but I was told someone already got her. They said it was a female youkai with long pale hair, and that she carried a mirror."

"So you thought it was me." Sakura completed her daughter's thought. She too was starting to feel very worried.

"I don't understand what happened. Who was that woman, and what has she done with my baby?" Even as Kagura asked, her mother took her in a tight comforting hug.

"Let's not exaggerate, I am sure it was all a misunderstanding. There is no need to get upset right now..." Sakura lied. She knew that something was wrong, but did not want to distress her daughter. She was already surprised enough to have Kagura rely on her so openly for comfort and guidance. She sent her husband a look, and he immediately knew what was asked of him. Without Kagura noticing, Morio silently slipped away from the vestibule, and headed towards the living room in search of a phone.

"Now why don't you call the daycare, and ask to talk to the owner. The employee you talked to might have made some sort of mistake."

"You're right. No need to worry before taking into consideration all the possibilities." Kagura reluctantly stepped out of her mother's warm arms, and fished her cell phone out of her purse.

'_Hopefully he gets here fast. I am sure he will agree with my suspicions, and will know what to do.' _Sakura thought confidently as her crimsons eyes watched Kagura punch in the digits of the phone number on her phone.

* * *

Sesshoumaru Takahashi was a man who prided himself in his keen mind when it came to business. He had taken his father's advertisement agency, and had turned it into one of the most profitable one in this side of the world, and his ambition was far from being satiated. It therefore came to a surprise to everyone seating in the newly remodeled meeting room of his agency to see the usually cold and reserved Sesshoumaru Takahashi excuse himself from such an important meeting. His sudden and unexpected departure from a meeting with a crucial new client had been preceded by his secretary leaning to whisper something in his ear. Without a word of excuse, the dog demon had bolted out of the room.

"Mr. Takahashi has just received some distressing news about one of his family members. He begs for your forgiveness, and asks for the meeting to be rescheduled at your convenience." Kiriko could have snorted at her use of the verb 'beg' when it came to her employer. She knew firsthand that the proud inu youkai never begged. Even when he had enlisted her help in decorating the hotel suite he was going to propose to his girlfriend in, he had simply ordered Kiriko to offer her assistance.

"Well I guess it cannot be helped, we are all at some point affected by family issues. You can tell Mr. Takahashi that we shall reschedule." Kozue, Sesshoumaru's latest client said as he stood up from the plush leather seat he occupied. His entourage wasted no time doing the same, and in a matter of seconds, Kiriko was left alone in the room.

'_Let's just hope that everything goes well...' _The young dog demoness told herself. Since Sesshoumaru had turned his phone off, she had been the one who had answered Morio's worrisome phone call, and had wasted no time repaying the message to her employer. She may not have been a big fan of kids, but she quite liked Kanna and her cute young mother.

* * *

As he pressed his clawed finger against the doorbell, Sesshoumaru realized he had never driven this fast in his entire life. Even when years ago Jaken had called him to tell him about his father's accident, he had driven more carefully to join Izayoi and Inuyasha at the hospital.

He was about to ring once more when the large front door cracked opened, and Morio's strained face appeared in the opening.

"Where is she? What is going on?" Without sparing a glance at the older illusion demon, Sesshoumaru using his sensitive nose walked towards where his fiancée was. The loud screams coming from the closed were indication of the whereabouts of Kagura. The dog demon silently opened the door, and stepped inside.

"Why the fuck won't she even answer her phone anymore?" Kagura punched the 'end call' button again angrily, and hardly resisted the urge to smash her cell phone against the wall.

"I don't care what the old bat says, I'm going back there right now. For all I know Kanna might still actually be there. It wouldn't surprise me if that old hag made a mistake." Even as the words left her red lip, Kagura got ready to run back to the bus stop.

"Honey, I don't think that would be the best course of action. Why don't you calm down first, and wait for a little bit before doing anything rash." Her mother gently tried to calm her down. Before the void demoness had spoken, Sesshoumaru had not even noticed her presence.

"Wait for what? I have a feeling you've been trying to keep me here, what's going on?" Kagura asked, annoyance clear in her voice.

"I presume it is for my benefit." The wind sorceress was startled by the voice that suddenly spoke behind her.

"Sesshoumaru!" She exclaimed after turning around. "What are you doing here?"

"Morio called and apprised me of the situation, but I would rather hear it from you. What exactly happened?" He purposely left out the part where his fiancée's stepfather had told him that Kagura was frantic, and that both he and Sakura were very worried about not only Kanna, but Kagura as well. He had easily identified as relief the look in Sakura's eyes at seeing him.

"I'm not sure myself. I went to pick up Kanna, but the old woman told me she wasn't there; however, I am not sure I believe her." The wind sorceress said. "I was about to go back and check though…" She was suddenly interrupted by a loud vibrating noise.

"Hold that thought." Sesshoumaru instructed as he fished his vibrating phone out of his pocket, and answered his phone.

Kagura, Morio and Sakura could not make out what the person on the other line was saying, but the way Sesshoumaru's eyes suddenly thinned let them all know that he was not happy.

"Contact Kouga, and let me know how the situation develops." The dog demon said through clenched teeth, then closed his phone before slipping it back inside his pocket. Even though the wolf demon was a police officer, and a rash person, Sesshoumaru knew that he could count on his discretion.

"What's wrong?" Kagura asked her fiancé.

"It seems that the day care owner was telling the truth. I sent Jaken to check on things, and Kanna is not at the daycare as of now. Someone has picked her up."

"Why in the hell would someone do that? How did that even happen?" Kagura asked. Up to that instant she had been holding on to the mad hope that all that had happened had been some kind of joke, or a part of one of Sesshoumaru's elaborate surprises, but seeing the look of worry displayed in the dog demon's eyes, she knew firsthand that something had indeed happened to their daughter.

"It is something this Sesshoumaru intends to find out." He let out the wheels in his head already turning actively. After so many trials and tribulation Sesshoumaru had finally managed to get his precious family back together, and he was not willing to let anyone destroy that.

Just as the words left Sesshoumaru's mouth, Kagura's phone started ringing. She made a sound of exasperation in the back of her throat, but still decided to answer. After all she did not know who was calling, and hoped it might be the day care owner letting her know that whoever had picked up Kanna had returned her. She trusted her Sesshoumaru completely, but said trust did not extend to his faithful retainer. Kagura had never liked Jaken, and would not put it past him to mess a task as simple as checking Kanna's whereabouts at the daycare.

The wind sorceress quickly placed the phone against her ear. Her eager greeting was only met with conspicuous silence. Just as she was about to end the call after letting out a string of expletives, an all too familiar chuckle resonated on the other end of the line. Kagura's face rapidly turned pasty white and suddenly deep down inside of her she knew exactly what had happened.

"Naraku." She hissed vehemently.

"Hello my dear ungrateful daughter."

**To be continued…**

A/N: Dun dun dun. I am sure most of you have figured out what happened. We'll just have to see what the aftermath will be. The next chapter is going to be named… Actually I'd rather not tell you yet. Let's just say it will be intense :P

'Til next time dear readers!

~Saphira.


	75. Elucidation

_**Chapter 75: Elucidation**_

Hello dear reader, yes this IS an update, you are not dreaming. I am so very sorry for having you guys wait so long for a new chapter, especially after such a mean cliffy. I can't believe this story is already two years old (or that you guys are still reading it lol! :P)

I wouldn't have been able to keep writing if I didn't have your amazing support. I really appreciate all the reviews, story favorite/alert notices and PM's I received for this story over the last two years. Thank you so much for being with me every step of the way!

Unfortunately this chapter isn't that long, and won't make the story advance a lot, but it will all be worth it in the end. I will never let the story unfinished, but I do not know when I will update next.

Thank you dear readers for your amazing support. A special mention for my great reviewers:

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25Victor**

**Roguereader **(All your questions about how Naraku managed to pull the kidnapping off will be answered. I do aim to please lol.)

**Lemonz V**

**Sesshlover **(Thank you for the support and the kind words!)

**BookBlossom **(I am glad to get new readers. I'm sorry I wasn't able to update for the

anniversary of the story :( I'll do my best to keep on writing for sure!)

**Anana553**

**BlackBurningHeart**

**Halloween265**

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

Naraku Onigumo had always been a man who believed in his great intelligence. It had taken careful planning, and a lot of thinking, but his plan had been successful. He was very proud to have worked hard, but managed to finish his plan. Even though had he been honest, he would have admitted that he, himself, was still surprised at how easily he had been able to sneak away the young child.

_'Not that it has not cost me much time and careful preparation…' _He thought to himself reflecting on his plan, a sour look on his face. He had had to push back his intervention several times, but was glad that it had all worked out in the end.

Naraku had always had some of his employees watching Kagura and Sesshoumaru while he waited for the couple to slip, and allow him to take advantage of one of their weaknesses. Therefore the second the hanyou had been informed that Kagura had enrolled her daughter in a small daycare, he had wasted no time taking his chance. He had arranged for the handyman of the small establishment to disappear then took the place of the old man as soon as a 'help wanted' sign had been placed on the front window of the daycare, and ads run in the newspapers.

It had been easy for Naraku to infiltrate himself, and using his charm and skills make himself indispensable to the old owner of the day care. The too often neglected older human woman had simply been too flattered to have a younger handsome man as Naraku paying her compliments to notice that he had taken a much too deep interest in one of the children in her day care, or that he had altered the file of said child.

_'At least now that my plan has come to fruition, I will not have to suck up to that horrid old hag. I could have killed her, but it would have been so messy… From now on I have to be careful lest all my efforts go to waste.' _He thought his crimson eyes resting on his young employee Mayumi, who unsuccessfully tried to feed Kanna. After all it was only the previous week that the police had come to the daycare to ask about the mysterious disappearance of their former handyman.

Naraku's 'boss' had been beside herself in worry after hearing from the police officers about her old employee, and the dark hanyou had expected her to point him out to the police as a suspect any second, but a large dazzling smile from him had managed to change her mind. It had been so easy for him to plant into her head that the fact that he had known the name and information of the older man was a mere coincidence. How was the old day care owner to know that her newest employee, Naraku, had been behind the disappearance of her former faithful employee?

_'The old hag was willing to swallow up anything I would have told her. I don't think she will rat me out to the police even if I won't be showing my face around there anymore.' _Naraku paused in his musings on the plan he had implemented to glare at the younger woman with pale blond hair present in the room with him. The young woman's offense had been to drop a bottle of water on the carpet of their room, causing a wet puddle to spread on the plush carpet. She was rewarded with a sharp glare, a clear promise of what was to come if she distracted him again.

'_Maybe involving the stupid bitch was a bad idea… although she was useful to pass on as Sakura.' _He grinned at the idea of how easily it had been to trick his 'employer' into thinking that due to her pale hair and small mirror Mayumi was actually related to Kanna. He knew that using the young woman had been a good idea; the perfect final piece to his elaborate plan.

Despite his hard efforts, he also knew he had only been careless once. The day he had had Sousuke Yamashita attack Sesshoumaru, the dog demon had almost caught him while he was watching the inu youkai drop off Kanna from inside the day care building. Naraku had quickly dodged away from the window and hid behind a thick curtain, and only thanked his lucky star that Sesshoumaru had not noticed him before leaving.

"Hum… Naraku… sorry I mean Master I don't know why, but she won't eat." Mayumi said, cutting through Naraku's thoughts.

"Why would I care? Let her starve if she wants to." The hanyou said, a warning flashing in his crimson gaze.

"Yes of course, forgive me." Mayumi wasted no time coming to her knees in front of her employer/master. She was now able to read his moods, and knew that he was happy, and intended to do everything to keep him this way.

He chose to ignore Mayumi's relieved sigh, or the way she struggled to come to her feet, probably due to the bruises still covering her back courtesy of his blows, and instead focused his cold hard gaze on the scowling infant seated on the bed of the hotel room they were hiding into.

"Now now Kanna, why don't you smile for your loving grandpa?" He chuckled, asking the infant. "I did bring you back your favorite blanket, did I not?" He pointed with a long pale finger to the white woolen fabric resting on the young child's lap. It was the very same blanket Kagura had hand knitted for her daughter before she had even been born. The blanket that in her haste to leave Naraku's house Kagura had forgotten behind.

Even if she ran her fingers along the comforting soft white fabric, Kanna did not bother to answer Naraku's words. She did not even act as if she had heard him. She kept her face blank as she still remembered her mother telling her that there was nothing Naraku liked more than to take advantage of your fear. Her lack of response annoyed the spider half demon, and he therefore decided to kick things up a notch.

"Well then your ungrateful brat, how would you like to talk to your mommy?" He grinned at seeing the sudden light that came on in Kanna's dark eyes, and wasted no time reaching over for the phone on the side table.

Kanna snuggled her beloved Kuma-chan closer to her chest. At that moment she really regretted not telling her parents that Naraku had been the cause of her recurring nightmares before Sakura had started helping her control her powers. She had through her mirror accidently overheard a conversation Naraku had had with one of his employees discussing Kanna's enrollment in a small daycare facility. She knew from witnessing her mother's abuse that Naraku was up to no good, and she had therefore immediately worried about what he intended to do. The young void demoness could not help but wonder if Naraku would have been able to snatch her away if she had warned Sesshoumaru of the dark hanyou's possible plan.

'_Mommy. Sesshoumaru. Please come get me' _She thought to herself, forcing back tears.

* * *

"_What's wrong?" Kagura asked her fiancé._

_"It seems that the day care owner was telling the truth. I sent Jaken to check on things, and Kanna is not at the daycare as of now. Someone has picked her up."_

_ "Why in the hell would someone do that? How did that even happen?" Kagura asked. Up to that instant she had been holding on to the mad hope that all that had happened had been some kind of joke, or a part of one of Sesshoumaru's elaborate surprises, but seeing the look of worry displayed in the dog demon's eyes, she knew firsthand that something had indeed happened to their daughter._

_ "It is something this Sesshoumaru intends to find out." He let out the wheels in his head already turning actively. After so many trials and tribulation Sesshoumaru had finally managed to get his precious family back together, and he was not willing to let anyone destroy that._

_Just as the words left Sesshoumaru's mouth, Kagura's phone started ringing. She made a sound of exasperation in the back of her throat, but still decided to answer. After all she did not know who was calling, and hoped it might be the day care owner letting her know that whoever had picked up Kanna had returned her. She trusted her Sesshoumaru completely, but said trust did not extend to his faithful retainer. Kagura had never liked Jaken, and would not put it past him to mess a task as simple as checking Kanna's whereabouts at the daycare._

_The wind sorceress quickly placed the phone against her ear. Her eager greeting was only met with conspicuous silence. Just as she was about to end the call after letting out a string of expletives, an all too familiar chuckle resonated on the other end of the line. Kagura's face rapidly turned pasty white and suddenly deep down inside of her she knew exactly what had happened._

_ "Naraku." She hissed vehemently._

_ "Hello my dear ungrateful daughter."_

"What have you done to my baby? I swear that if you've hurt a hair on her head, I will kill you. I will kill you with my bare fucking hands!" Kagura spat angrily.

"Ku ku ku do you really think you are in any position to make such threats? Do not forget that your precious daughter is at my mercy. Have you forgotten what I am capable of doing?" The clear menacing tone in her voice caused a shiver to go down her spine.

"You wouldn't dare."

"I thought I had taught you better. Did I not use my fists on you enough to have you know the answer to your stupid question?" Naraku answered, annoyance clear in his voice.

Sesshoumaru's trained eye noticed the shiver that suddenly went through his fiancée's body, and knew the reason for it had not been pleasure. He had interacted with Naraku enough to know that the dark hanyou would do anything to bring pain to the woman he loved and their daughter. Sesshoumaru also knew that it was his duty to thwart any plan Naraku might have.

Without hesitating for one second, the dog demon lunged forward and slipped Kagura's cell phone out of her hand.

"What the?..." The shocked wind sorceress turned around to face the person who had taken the device from her, and was not surprised to see none other than her lover. She opened her mouth to let Sesshoumaru know her feelings about him taking the phone from her. However the sudden warning glare Sesshoumaru sent her made her pause, but not for long. She glared back at him, letting him know that even if she did not voice it, she had not appreciated his action.

"Naraku. What is it you want _this time_?" Sesshoumaru spoke into the phone, using the cold impersonal voice he usually reserved for business dealings. He was not a fool, and knew that the last thing he or Kagura should do was let Naraku know how scared they were.

_'That damned spider is capable of using any possible opportunity or weakness to his advantage. However I will not let him do that. After all unlike Kagura I am not willing to let him get me riled up.'_ Sesshoumaru thought even as he tightened his hold on the phone. The nervous action was the only proof of his deep anger.

"My my if it isn't my dear son! I am so flattered to see that my dear girl has finally learned her lesson well. Instead of disrespecting me more, she passed on the phone to you so we could talk business. I really should have thought about grabbing that brat of hers sooner."

Naraku's words annoyed Sesshoumaru, but he kept his cool, and disregarded his remark. He then simply asked the question that he knew Naraku had been waiting for. "How much do you want?"

"I have truly always enjoyed this business side of you. Well let's see now, why don't I ask you a question in return? How much do you think my dear grandchild is worth? Do not forget she is my one and only grandchild." The spider half demon asked amused even as his dark red eyes moved to look at the small child positioned at the center of the hotel bedroom he was hiding in. Kanna was hugging her beloved Kuma-chan to her chest, and trying to stay as silent as possible; Naraku had sworn to beat her if she did not keep quiet. She had seen him hurt her mother enough times not to want to get beaten up by him.

"She is not your granddaughter, and has no relations blood or other to you." Sesshoumaru let some of his anger sip out.

"Well there is no use trying to elude the question after all…"

"How much?" Sesshoumaru growled again, interrupting Naraku. At this point the dog demon did not care that the hanyou would be able to gloat and rejoice at having made the notoriously cold Sesshoumaru Takahashi lose his temper.

"I will give you three days to gather ten millions." Naraku answered in a sing song voice.

"Have you lost your mind?" Sesshoumaru roared, his mind still reeling at the unfathomable figure. He knew firsthand that there was no way he would ever be able to gather that much money, especially on such short notice. From the corner of his eye he could see Kagura's wide worried eyes looking at him with surprise, fear and anticipation dancing in them, and instead of answering her, he simply turned away from her. The last thing he wanted to see when dealing with Naraku was the haunting look in Kagura's eyes.

"Oh? Do you mean you are unable to get the money? Ku ku ku did you hear that Kanna? Your dear _daddy_ does not think you are worth that much money. It seems he would rather keep the money to make up a new family with your mommy and leave you with me."

The sudden sharp intake of air Sesshoumaru heard coming from the other line let him know that Naraku had placed the receiver next to Kanna.

'_Probably with the sick and twisted aim to hurt me more, and make me angrier. As if he could push me to make a mistake so easily.'_ Sesshoumaru reflected annoyed. An idea suddenly came to his mind. "Do not believe his lies!" The dog demon quickly exclaimed, hoping to reach his frightened daughter, and give her some comfort and hope.

"Tsk tsk! Such a bad boy Sesshoumaru. You should know I would not let you talk to my dear… guest without my consent first. It seems she will have to be punished for your transgression."

At hearing Naraku's words, Sesshoumaru suddenly had a flashback of in what shape Kagura had been when she had first come to live with him. Just the thought of Kanna covered in bruises, the like he had had to bandage on his fiancée' body scared him. He knew that Naraku was heartless enough to do such a thing to a young child.

"There is no need for such extremes. I will do whatever you ask."

Naraku smiled broadly at hearing the defeated words of his opponent. "Good. Then I will give you more information to let you know how we will proceed."

Having the feeling that Naraku was about to hang up the phone, Sesshoumaru quickly spoke. "I want to speak to Kanna, and see if she is alright."

"This is not a right you have yet earned." With this cryptic words said in a huff, the dark hanyou hung up the phone, letting a worried Sesshoumaru listening to static noises.

* * *

After the unsettling phone call he had received from Naraku, Sesshoumaru Takahashi was one mad demon. Kagura's coldness did not do anything to improve Sesshoumaru's mood. He had expected her to harass him with questions the second he would be off the phone, but she had done nothing. She was simply and silently staring at him. During their silent battle of wills, Sakura and her husband Morio were staying inconspicuously silent.

"What did he want?" Kagura gave in and finally asked. Her curiosity and fear for her daughter outweigh her anger at her fiancé. She was doing her best to stay as calm as possible, but despite her efforts could not help her crimson eyes from shooting daggers in Sesshoumaru's direction. She after all had not forgiven him for taking her cell phone away when she was talking to Naraku. Just thinking about the dog demon's action fanned the flames of Kagura's anger, and she angrily snatched back her phone from Sesshoumaru's outstretched hand. She then slipped the device back in her pocket, her eyes not leaving her fiancé's closed off face.

"10 millions. He has given me three days to gather the money." Sesshoumaru was very proud of himself not to have let his voice betray his anger at the situation.

"What?" Kagura gasped in pure shock. She had known that Naraku would be up to no good, but had not expected him to ask for such an exorbitant amount of money. "He has gone insane!"

"This is preposterous! We will not let him get away with this. He has hurt this family far too many times, and it is high time we put a stop to his devilish actions." Morio grumbled from behind the wind sorceress.

His pale faced wife took a few seconds to regain her bearings before opening her mouth. "Morio is right. We need to put an end to Naraku's evil plans."

"I will employ myself to this end." Sesshoumaru vowed. Even as he spoke, his mind was thinking about who he could count on to help in his endeavor. "Come, we are leaving." Not bothering to speak one more word, the dog demon walked towards the door, fully expecting to have Kagura dutifully follow after him.

"Do not order me like that. Talk to me! I can tell you have some idea running though your head. Whatever it is, I want in. It's my baby that bastard took, and I intend to help you get her back." Kagura took a hold of Sesshoumaru's arm, making him pause. He turned around to look at her, and did not hide the annoyance in his gaze.

"Wait you two. Please listen. I think we should all calm down first of all. I think the two of you staying here for now would be better too." Sakura spoke quickly, hoping to convince the young couple. She knew firsthand how painful being separated from her child could be hell for a mother, and Sakura truly felt sorry for her daughter.

"Naraku is probably watching your penthouse as we speak. I am sure that whatever you have planned would be more effective if that bastard had no knowledge of your plan." The illusion demo pointed out.

"He does not know of this house?" Sesshoumaru turned to face Morio then arched an eyebrow in surprise.

"We have always made sure not to let him know. After all he already took one child away from us. What could prevent him from taking another one of our children?" Morio said thinking about how hard both he and his wife had worked to keep Naraku away from their family while still complying with his requests for money in exchange of information about Kagura's whereabouts.

_'We have had to move several times to stay away from that bastard while allowing him to reach us in order to have information about Kagura.'_ Just thinking about how much of a plague Naraku had been on his family caused the purple eyed demon to clench his fists in pure anger.

While Morio was busy thinking, Sesshoumaru was having thoughts of his own. _'Morio is right. If I want to gather the forces, and work on taking the bastard of Naraku down, using the house of the Fujibayashis might be a good idea.'_

"We shall be staying here then. Excuse me for now, I need to make some phone calls." The dog demon said already slipping his phone out of his pocket.

"Sesshou…" Kagura stared speaking, but her fiancé simply kept on walking, then exited the room, not even sparing Kagura a comforting glance.

_'Why did he suddenly turn so cold?' _She asked herself, feeling her heart tighten even more.

Sakura walked over to her daughter and enveloped her in a tight soothing hug. "We will get Kanna back, I swear it to you." The void demoness pressed a peck to Kagura's temple, hoping to bring as much comfort to her daughter as possible.

Her mother's love caused warmth to spread through Kagura while at the same time made her realize that her daughter must be scared and wishing for her own mother's comfort. The idea of Naraku hurting her baby made tears of fear and anger pool in Kagura's crimson gaze. Her mother's warm arms surrounding her and Sesshoumaru's sudden coldness did not help her get a hold of herself. Before she even realized it, she felt warm tear trailing down her cheeks.

As Kagura sobbed against her mother's shoulder, she realized there was nothing she wanted more than to have things being just like the previous night: she holding her daughter in her arms while having Sesshoumaru next to her.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Here you have it dearies, a brand new update. I am sorry if it's filled with typos. I didn't really take the time to proofread it as I wanted to post it as quickly as possible. The next chapter will be called **Rallying.** It will feature Sesshoumaru's attempt at fighting Naraku's plan.


	76. Rallying

_**Chapter 76: Rallying**_

A/N: Hello! I am sorry to disappoint you, but this is unfortunately just a small kind of transitional chapter, which I hope will satisfy you for now. I will try to have the next one out soon :)

I am truly amazed that you guys are still reading, reviewing and supporting this story so much. Thank you! A special mention to all the great readers who put the story on their alert/favorite lists, it lets me know that even if reviews are going down, people are still interested in reading the fic.

Once again thanks to my amazing support system:

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25Victor**

**Anana553**

**BlackBurningHeart**

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

"That fucking bastard! How could anyone do something that despicable?" Kouga shot to his feet, anger rolling through him. He had just been appraised by Sesshoumaru of the situation with Kanna, and the wolf demon had really been appalled by what Naraku had done. Kouga was sure that the fact that he was now the proud father of a baby girl was greatly contributing to his anger and disgust at the situation.

He knew that to the day he died he would never forget the feelings of awe and pure pleasure that had overcame him when the doctor had placed his squirming, wailing newborn daughter in his clumsy large tanned hands for the first time. Of course the love and happiness dancing in Ayame's tired emerald eyes as she looked at her two favorite people heightened the warm fuzzy feelings inside him.

"Keh! That's exactly what I said when Sesshoumaru told me about what happened. If the bastard of Naraku was next to me right now, I would beat the crap out of him." Inuyasha commented punching one of his fists inside his open palm for emphasis.

"Kouga, Inuyasha, I am sure Sesshoumaru would appreciate it if we focused on the problem at hand." Miroku sent a pleading look to the wolf demon, who reluctantly sat back down in one of the plush armchairs of the smaller living room in the Fujibayashi residence. The human was amazed that his friend and boss had been able to keep cool and calm so far, but something told him that it would not take a lot to drive Sesshoumaru over the edge.

The dog demon's sharp golden eyes moved from his 'friends' to the door which he knew led to the more informal living room where Sakura, Kagome and Sango were talking to Kagura. He only hoped that they were comforting the wind sorceress as seeing his fiancée crying broke his heart.

_'Unfortunately I do not have time to comfort her. I need to bring Kanna back to our side.' _Sesshoumaru felt a prickling sensation in his hand, and looked down. He was surprised to see his claws digging into the tender skin of his palm. He relaxed his hand, and raised his head to look back at the four males seated across from him.

Miroku and Inuyasha were sharing a love seat while Kouga occupied an armchair and the silent and thoughtful Morio was settled on a smaller side chair next to the window, his purple eyes staring outside.

"I understand that you don't want me to call my buddies, but using police resources would be helpful in such a situation… I mean we have no idea where that bastard of Naraku might be."

"No police." Sesshoumaru answered the wolf demon. "Naraku is a volatile man. If he knew that the police was after him… I do not know what he would do to Kanna." The dog demon's words caused all the men to pause and think.

"Fine." Kouga broke the heavy silence. "At least let me call in some favors and ask some of my boys to keep their eyes and ears opened." He waited until Sesshoumaru reluctantly nodded to add "So any idea of where the bastard could be hiding?"

* * *

In the room across the hall, the women were regrouped in the room known as the 'informal family room' in the Fujibayashi household. Sango was seated on one of the comfortable plush red seats; Kirara sprawled on the ground at her feet, ready to step into action the second her mistress would ask her to. There was nothing the strong human female hated more than feeling useless, which she really felt like at the moment. Ever since Sango had stopped working at the Takahashi agency, she had not seen much of Kanna, but she still would do anything to make the little girl safe.

Sakura was seated next to her daughter, not speaking one word, but trying to provide as much support and comfort to the young wind sorceress as possible.

_'Oh God. I can only hope that that madman of Naraku does not intend to do to Kagura what he did to me…' _The void demoness thought deathly afraid of what was going to occur. Even as she shared her daughter's pain, she could not help but recall the awful feeling of hopelessness she had gone through over twenty years ago when Naraku had taken her baby Kagura away from her arms.

Across from the mother/daughter duo, Kagome sat. The young human placed a hand on her rounded belly as if trying to protect her baby from Naraku's malevolence. She could not fathom the amount of pain Kagura and Sesshoumaru were going through. She herself had yet to be a mother, but loved her fiancé's son as if he was his own.

_'The poor thing cried himself to sleep…I guess it's better for him to sleep upstairs in one of the guest bedrooms than to be stuck here with worried adults.'_ She reflected thinking about the young kitsune who had cried for a long time after they had arrived at the Fujibayashi mansion. Shippou had been very upset after hearing about what had happened to his friend, and soon to be cousin, and cried for a long time. Despite Kagome's attempt at calming him down, the kitsune had only fell silent when he had given in to sleep after being exhausted by his sobbing.

The second Sesshoumaru had called his younger brother to tell him about Kanna's kidnapping, the hanyou had gathered up his fiancée and son, and had brought them over to the Fujibayashi mansion, which had quickly turned into a base of operations, with the older couple's blessing of course. As soon as Kagome, Inuyasha and Shippou had stepped foot in the impressive house, the dog demon had swept away his brother, and the two of them had secluded themselves in the larger living room with Morio. Miroku and Sango had arrived next. The demon slayer had then joined the smaller room where the women were while Miroku joined the men. Kouga had later on joined the growing group of males where he had been caught up on what had transpired.

_'I am really surprised that Sesshoumaru hasn't even spared Kagura one word of comfort.'_ Kagome thought to herself as she continued to absentmindedly caress the bump on her abdomen. _'Inu always calls him "the cold bastard," but I thought he would be different with Kagura. She's obviously not doing well… but who could blame her, that monster did take her daughter. I guess it's a good thing her mother is here…' _Thinking about Sakura, Kagome's chocolate colored eyes moved over to look at the beautiful older demoness. She could see the resemblance between Sakura, Kagura and Kanna, but still had a hard time believing that Kagura not only had family she never talked about, but by the looks of their house had very rich parents.

To the surprise of the four women and one demonic cat, someone suddenly barged into the room.

A tan skinned, blue eyed demon with a long black ponytail walked in with Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Miroku and Morio following closely behind him.

"Which one of you is Kagura?" He announced, standing straight with his hands resting on his hips.

"Me. Who the hell are you?" Kagura asked even as she did not bother coming to her feet.

"Lieutenant Ookami. But feel free to call me Kouga. I am going to have to ask you a few questions. The old ice block might not like it, but you might have some interesting information. You did work for Naraku after all…"

As an esteemed member of the police forces, Kouga was acquainted with Naraku's name. He was well known in the underworld after all. Plus Kouga had even conducted some of his own personal research into the hanyou and his dark business dealings after the awkward evening when Sesshoumaru and he had shared a drink in the Yuki tower. At the time Kouga had not understood why Sesshoumaru had wanted to have a drink there, but now things made more sense to the young police officer. All it had taken Kouga was a five minutes chat with a member of the vice squad to find out that the Yuki tower, its bar and its discreet bedrooms were a well-known place of business for Naraku.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Kagura shot to her feet, her crimson eyes blazing, defying him to say something. In response to her clear annoyance, the wolf demon threw his hands up and grinned.

"Wow! No need to get so upset. In my book any woman capable _and_ willing to put up if any of the Takshashi brothers is a saint." Kouga grinned, revealing a set of pearly white fangs.

"Feh! We ain't that bad!" Inuyasha retorted, a scowl on his face.

"Yeah yeah whatever. Dogshit if I wanted your opinion I would have asked." Kouga turned from his childhood friend to stare back at the wind sorceress.

"So, what do you want to know?" An appeased Kagura asked.

"Do you have any idea where Naraku could be holding your daughter?"

"If I had, do you seriously think I would be sitting here waiting for that asshole to call me?" Kagura could feel anger boiling inside of her, and was more than willing to let Kouga take the brunt of it. It would after all be a perfectly nice way in her opinion to vent her anger.

"Lieutenant Ookami, I am sure that if my daughter had any relevant information, she would be more than willing to share it. I can assure you that there is no one here who would rather see Kanna back with her family than her own mother." Sakura stood up to join her daughter, offering her support.

"I am just asking some questions here." He grumbled in response.

"Kouga, I agree with Sakura." Sesshoumaru intervened. "There is no need to question my fiancée, it is not the reason this Sesshoumaru has asked for your presence."

The dog demon walked past Kouga and Kagura who were still staring at each other, animosity clear in their expressions, then moved over to the window to stare at the darkened streets outside. Everyone's eyes followed him, waiting and wondering what he would be doing next, but he paid them little attention. His mind could not help but briefly wander to wonder if Kanna was asleep somewhere. He truly hoped so as it would at least mean that Naraku was not torturing her, which was a great fear to him.

"Feh! If only we had a way to come in contact with Kanna things would be so much easier. I mean…" Inuyasha had barely started formulating his idea that he was interrupted.

"Dogshit, why don't you keep your ridiculous ideas to yourself next time?" Inuyasha sent a dark scowl to his long term rival, to which Kouga responded with a bright smile.

"Guys, right now is _really_ not the time to start one of your ridiculous arguments." Kagome sighed tiredly. Her back was killing her, and she had recently developed a bad case of heartburn, which her doctor had assured her were perfectly normal for women in her condition; nevertheless, the last thing the young woman wanted was to separate Kouga and Inuyasha; especially, not in front of her worried friends.

A heavy silence hung around the room, each person in deep thought. Morio suddenly let out a small gasp, then shifted his purple eyes to stare at his wife.

"What?" Kouga barked in the direction of the older illusion demon. He had not been the only one to notice the insistent glances Morio had been sending his wife, but Sango, who's sharp eyes had observed the silent exchange, did not feel like intruding on the grieving parents of her friend.

"Not too long ago Sakura had started training Kanna in communicating with her mirror..." The older youkai said.

"What is he talking about?" Kagura asked, her eyes moving away from the back of her beloved to look at her parents. Kanna had been giving her reports about her training sessions with Sakura, but the young child had never said anything on that topic.

"Honey… I don't think it would be a good idea." Sakura defended herself.

"Why not? Could you do that mom? Could you get in contact with her?" Kagura's hopeful shimmering eyes felt like a knife being twisted in her mother's heart. There was nothing the void demoness wanted more than get Kanna back in her mother's arms, but was not sure that her husband plan would work.

"Kanna had yet to master this technique, and using it ineffectively would deplete her youki and could hurt her. Besides there are no guarantees that it would actually work… After all for all we know Naraku might have taken away her mirror." The older demoness tried reasoning her daughter.

_'The last thing I would want is for me to fail, and have Kagura's heart be broken all over again. I have already hurt her so much…' _Just thinking of the pain she had inflicted on her daughter made her own heart bleed.

"Mrs. Fujibayashi, if you do not mind me butting in, I think that the idea would be worth a shot." Miroku said aiming to soothe the obviously torn woman. "In fact the longer we wait, the more likely Naraku is to destroy Kanna's mirror."

The young human smiled nicely at the older demoness before adding "I can assure you that no one, not even Kagura would blame you if you were not successful."

The wind sorceress noticed the uncertainty dancing in her mother's crimson eyes, and therefore intervened. "Mom, the only thing I want is for you to try. Whether it works or not, I wouldn't blame you. I'll be grateful if you just give it a try." Despite the pain in her heart, she found the strength to muster a smile for her mother's benefit.

"I guess… I could give it a try." Sakura finally said reluctantly. There was nothing she would not do for her daughter, and this was obviously an example of this. She sent her child a small uncertain smile.

"Keh! So what the hell are we waiting for?"

**To be continued…**

A/N: Will Sakura be able to get in contact with Kanna? Will they manage to get Kanna away from Naraku? We shall see next time. The chapter will be named **Passageway**. Again so sorry for making you wait, but the next chapter will be a good one! Also in my haste to post this chapter I may have made a few typos, for which I apologize :P


	77. Passageway

_**Chapter 77: Passageway**_

A/N: Yes it is an update! Just a few days shy of my three years anniversary as a member of the Fanficdom too boot! Woot! Woot!

Thanks for the continuous support my dear reviewers:

**Syzhale**

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25Victor**

**Anana553**

**BlackBurningHeart**

**Roguereader **(Nice to know the transition chapter was good. Thanks. We shall see what will happen with the mirrors…)

**Written Word **(Nice to hear from you again. Thanks for the nice words, I am glad you're enjoying the story. We'll see what will happen to Naraku)

**Senseless **(Always nice to get a new reviewer! 3 days, what a feat, congrats. Hope you enjoy this update too.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'_**Mental talk'**_

Kagura had never seen her mother using her powers, and if someone had asked her, she would have readily confessed that the sight was truly impressing her. As Morio and Sesshoumaru, who had been the only people admitted in the room except for the wind sorceress, Kagura had her eyes fixed on her mother's hunched form. The void demoness was intently staring down into a large mirror placed on a side table in the master bedroom. A few forgotten strands of white hair fell forward around Sakura's beautiful face, but that did not seem to deter her from focusing her powers towards the glowing surface of her mirror.

"I can't seem to get through to her." A frustrated Sakura grumbled, thinning her crimson eyes in concentration.

"Don't worry honey, you can do this. Keep trying." Morio murmured in encouragement. Even if he wanted to caress his wife's frail shoulders, he knew better than touching her for fear of breaking her concentration.

Sesshoumaru and Kagura stayed silent as well, eyes trained on the older demoness. Silence weighed heavily in the master bedroom of the Fujibayashi mansion; everyone was ignoring the luscious and expensive furniture pieces, favoring to look at Sakura and her attempt to get in contact with Kanna through their bond in their mirrors.

The surface of the mirror started glowing more brightly, which resulted in Sakura taking in a shallow breath. Her whole body tensed and her eyes opened wider. She tried her best to regulate her breathing and get her heart to beat at a more natural pace, but failed, not that it mattered much to her, she had finally fulfilled her goal.

"I've got her! I can feel her!" Sakura's enthusiastic cry got everyone's attention.

"Can you see her? Is she alright?" Kagura asked worriedly, her own eyes trained on the murky surface of her mother's mirror. At that particular moment there was nothing she would not give to be a void demoness, if only to be able to see her daughter through the swirling mass of light present in her mother's mirror. Something told her that unlike her, her mother could distinguish something inside the brightly illuminated smooth surface of the mirror.

"Great! So then what happens now?" Morio asked. He had asked the question that Sesshoumaru had been burning to ask. As unfeeling as the dog demon wanted to appear, he his own heartbeat had increased.

"Now, I'll try to talk to her or see if I can tell where that bastard has hidden her." Sakura answered her husband's earlier question, an evil smile curling her red lips.

It was the first time Kagura could recall hearing her mother curse, but was not about to call her on it. After all she felt it was more than warranted.

* * *

Kanna was tired of keeping her expression closed off. Ever since Sesshoumaru had taken her and her mother away, she had gotten used to smiling and laughing when happy, and crying when upset. However since Naraku had taken her away, she had done her best to do her mother proud, and mask her true emotions. Instead of showing her true fears, she simply decided to keep her mouth closed, and clutched her dear Kuma-chan closer to her chest. Looking for more comfort, Kanna then rested her dark eyes on the smooth surface of her small mirror. She really wished she could talk to her grandmother and tell her where to find her.

_'Then Sesshoumaru will be able to come find me, and we can go home.' _The thought of being back home with both of her parents brought tears to her eyes. However Kanna did her best to keep her pain masked from Naraku's evil all-seeing eyes. Even though the hanyou had just left the room, Kanna knew that he was nearby. She could hear him screaming at someone in the other room beyond the door. She inwardly winced when he used an ugly expletive, one she had heard him employ every time he was about to hurt her mommy. It was also the kind of words her mother forbid her of using. Thinking of Kagura caused Kanna's heart to pinch painfully.

While he had stepped out to make a phone call, Naraku had left Kanna under the careless gaze and supervision of Mayumi. The pale haired young woman was too scared to openly go against Naraku, but really did not want to hurt Kanna either. She was facing away from the child, standing next to the dirty windows, her troubled eyes staring outside in the darkened street.

Kanna looked way from the back of the woman who was supposed to be watching her, and stared at her small mirror, which to her surprise had started shinning. A smile graced her lips when the voice of her grandmother resonated in her head. This was the only indication the young child displayed of what was going on. Sakura had just started training her on how to communicate via her mirrors, so Kanna was therefore not surprised by what was happening. She may not have had enough power to contact her grandmother, but a part of her had hoped all evening on that Sakura would do so.

_**'Kanna, honey. It's Grandma Sakura. Can you hear me?'**_The gentle voice resonated in Kanna's head.

_**'Yes.´**_She answered happily. For the first time ever since Mayumi had abducted her, Kanna felt safe. Something told her she would soon be rescued.

* * *

"What did she say? Is she okay? Did the bastard hurt her?" Kagura fired questions at her mother. She grew angry when the older woman did not answer. Noticing how upset his fiancée was getting, Sesshoumaru got closer to her, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. As if realizing how she was behaving, the wind sorceress took one calming breath before speaking again. "Mom, please ask her if she is okay."

Sakura stayed silent for a moment, unnerving everyone. Relief was soon to come when she opened her mouth. "She is unarmed." She sighed, relief coursing through her own veins.

"Where is he keeping her?" The dog demon asked, his mind always focused on the end goal. He would not be satisfied until his little girl was back in her place, in her mother's comforting arms. His feelings of happiness at the knowledge of Kanna's safety were only demonstrated though his hand grasping Kagura's shoulder tighter.

Sakura nodded then paused long enough to ask Kanna before answering his question. "She has no idea."

"Can she recognize any of her surroundings?" A disappointed Morio asked.

Once again Sakura relied the question, her crimson eyes never leaving the surface of her mirror. The three others waited impatiently for her answer. Unlike her they could not make out the face of the scared little girl reflected in the mirror.

_'Although I think this is for the best. If Kagura or Sesshoumaru were to see their daughter in such a state, they would go mad in fear.' _Sakura sighed to herself.

"She says there are beds… they are in a hotel room. It's very dirty."

"Can she remember the route Naraku took when he brought her over to the motel?" Sesshoumaru asked, trying a different approach. His daughter may be too young to know her way around the city, but if she could remember a landmark on her way over, then it would be enough to give them an idea of where the spider hanyou might be keeping her.

* * *

_**'No. My eyes were closed…'**_Kanna hated disappointing her loved ones, but while she was bundled in the back of the van Naraku had employed to drive her away from the daycare, she had been too scared to leave her eyes opened and have a look at her surroundings. She also regretted not trying to rip away the bonds used to keep her in place. All she had done during the trip was remain silent and silently cry for help.

_** 'Don't worry honey. You must have been very scared. I am proud of you for even trying…' **_Sakura took another pause. Kanna was scared the comforting voice of her grandmother was going to leave her, but was relieved when she heard her again.

_**'Your dad wants to know how long you were in the car... or if you can tell us anything about the place they are keeping you…'**_Sakura then paused before adding **'**_**It's okay if you can't answer. Just try to remember honey.'**_

_**'I don't know grandma… it's a big white building.**__' _There was nothing the little girl wanted more than help her grandmother find her. She however realized that she was not giving them much to go on in order to help her. It was then that Kanna noticed that they probably would not be able to find her, and tears started pooling in her black eyes.

Sensing that her granddaughter was getting upset, and therefore endangering their connection, Sakura decided to try calming her down. _'I need to calm her down. If she remains this upset, our connection will become unstable or even cease… she is too young to sustain it for too long anyways.'_

'_**Kanna-chan, I just had an idea. Why don't we try something else. Instead of answering my questions, why don't you try to visualize the room in your head. I will try my best to read your mind. Just relax and let me see through your eyes.'**_

**'**_**Okay.'**_ Even if she was uncertain, Kanna still did as asked. She never did get to find out if Sakura has been successful as the door to the room was thrown opened.

"What the hell are you doing, you little brat?" Naraku's voice boomed as his cruel red eyes laid on Kanna and the small shining mirror she was clutching in her small arms. The look of pure terror that suddenly appeared in his eyes let him know that as he had expected she was up to no good.

"She wasn't doing anything, I was watching her!" The second her master had entered the room, Mayumi had turned around. The only attention Naraku paid her was a punch as he made his way towards the small child kneeling on the bed.

Ignoring the whimper of pain Mayumi let out as she crumbled to the floor, clutching her bleeding nose in her hand, the dark hanyou walked forward.

"What do we have here?" He asked her as he yanked the small glowing mirror away from Kanna's small arms. Not even bothering to try to figure out what she had been doing, he threw the small mirror against the dirty wall. He grinned as he eyed the small round surface burst into dozens of small glittering shards.

"You really are your mother's daughter." Naraku spat. Kanna instinctively started crawling backwards, fear gripping her chest as her back came in contact with the grimy hard headboard of the bed. She had nowhere to hide.

"Now what punishment would be fitting for little girls who do not listen to their grandpas?" The spider half demon smiled evilly as an idea crossed his mind.

Mayumi sat up and looked away from Naraku as he lunged towards the little girl. She used the sleeve of her torn shirt to blot the blood flowing freely from her injured nose. She knew she should try to help the defenseless little girl, but fear was preventing her from moving.

_'I'm so sorry.' _The young demoness sobbed to herself as Kanna's scream resonated throughout the room.

* * *

"Kanna! Kanna! Answer me. Can you hear me?" Sakura's anguish cry went unanswered.

"What happened?" Kagura asked her mother. She shrugged off the hold Sesshoumaru had on her to move forward towards her mother.

"I cannot see Kanna." A visibly shaken Sakura breathed out.

"What do you mean you can't see her anymore? What the fuck happened?" Kagura was close to shaking an answer out of her mother, but refrained herself when she saw the distraught look on the face of the older demoness.

"The connection was severed... by Naraku. I saw him come in, then everything went blank. Kanna must have been too nervous to maintain our connection." Sakura's admission caused worry to grow in everyone's chest. They all knew that if the dark hanyou had suspected foul play, he would be sure to make Kanna pay for their attempts at getting in touch with her.

"Are you able to connect with her again?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"No. I cannot even feel her youki anymore. Oh my God! What has he done to her?" Sakura sighed. She could feel tears of anger and frustration rise inside her, but did her best to keep it in in order not to scare her daughter.

"Damn it! We need to find her now more than ever." Kagura cursed, voicing everyone's concern.

"Honey, while you were communicating with Kanna, did she tell you anything that could let us know where that bastard is keeping her?" Morio questioned his wife.

"Unfortunately no...although... no forget about it." The cryptic words of the void demoness attracted the attention of all, her future son in law most of all.

"Go on." Sesshoumaru prompted her. He could tell there was more to what Sakura had seen, and he intended to know.

"I am not sure, but I think that when Kanna let me penetrate her mind in order to let me see what she was seeing... I think I saw something. It was a stack of papers on the bed across from the one she was seating on. I think I saw the imprint of a black colored rose on one of the papers... however I could be wrong."

"A black rose? What could it mean?" Morio asked aloud as he reflected. Sharing his question, Sesshoumaru turned to look at Kagura, asking her a silent question. The wind sorceress shrugged in response. She may had been raised by Naraku, but there was still a lot she did not know about him, which at the moment, for the first time in her life, she truly regretted.

To the surprise of the other three occupants of the room, Sakura started speaking "A long time ago... when I was still working for Naraku..." She took a pause, finding the words even harder to speak now. "There was a place named Kurobara where he would take his girls for some work."

"Kurobara, as in Black Rose? Do you think he could've brought Kanna there?" Kagura asked, hope springing inside her. "What are we waiting here for? Mom, where is that place? We need to go there immediately and get my baby back."

"I wish it could be that easy dear, but the facility... I will call it that for lack of a better word, always changes locations. It is impossible to know when and where it will be located; only people affiliated with the underworld would. Naraku would never even tell us girls. He would simply drive us over to there to work..."

Sakura took a long steadying breath before adding. "Moreover even if it was still in the same place, I wouldn't know where to find that run down hotel. The only times Naraku took me there, I was so much under the influence of drugs, that I had no idea of where I might be..." Admitting her shameful past to Kagura had been a hard experience for her mother, but going into detail about how bad a shape she truly was at the time was simply horrible.

Sensing his wife's pain and shame, Morio looped an arm around her shoulders, hoping to comfort her. "It's all in the past now. What matters is that you have given us both hope, and a good lead. All we need to do is find that Kurobara place, and get Kanna back."

"Yeah, you're right. The only question is how to find that damned place." Kagura sighed exasperated. Thinking about what Naraku might be doing to her baby, caused anger, but most of all fear to run through her veins. Her nerves felt raw, and the only thing she knew could help her feel good and whole again would be getting her daughter back. The only hope she had at the time was to find the present location of the Kurobara, and therefore her daughter.

"I believe this Sesshoumaru might have an idea on how to go about that."

* * *

"The Kurobara? I am sorry, but I have no idea where it might be located this month." Miroku gulped uncomfortably. He did not like the line of questioning he was being subjected to, but the look of deep scrutiny Sesshoumaru was giving him chilled the young human from the inside out.

"The reason I am talking to you away from your girlfriend's hearing range is that I am looking for an honest answer. I do not care if you have not cut ties with your friends from the underworld. All that matters to me is finding my daughter, and I have a feeling you can help."

The second Sesshoumaru had heard about the Kurobara and its mysterious locations, the dog demon had thought of asking Miroku if he knew about the present location of the establishment. Wanting to ensure that Miroku would be honest, he had dragged his human collaborator from the living room to the library, then pushed him inside one of the armchairs before questioning him.

Miroku instinctively shrunk back against the back of the couch he was seating on. He could feel anger swimming inside the golden eyes of his boss, and was not keen on being on the receiving end of such feelings. Sesshoumaru was hovering over him, his hard face leaning towards the young human.

"What the fuck are you talking about? What's this bara thing?" Inuyasha asked. As soon as his brother had come storming back inside the living room, and had dragged a kicking and screaming Miroku away with him, the hanyou had followed the pair; he knew his brother wouldn't kill his best friend, but whatever Sesshoumaru had planned, the hanyou suspected Miroku wouldn't like.

"It is called the Kurobara. It is an underground meeting place for the lowest scum in the world. Since they change the location constantly, no one at the precinct has been able to find it." Unlike Sesshoumaru, the wolf demon was not too busy intimidating someone to answer Inuyasha's question. The ookami had originally intended to follow Sesshoumaru and the reluctant Miroku in order to be appraised of what had happened when the dog demon, his fiancée and her parents had stepped away to try to get in contact with Kanna. However now he had a feeling that he would be needed to keep Miroku alive.

"Ever since I've been with Sango, I've said goodbye to this lifestyle. I haven't gambled or been with a woman other than my dear sweet Sango in months!" The blue eyed human defended himself.

"You still have contacts…" Sesshoumaru suggested in return.

"I can try to get in touch with someone, but I am not promising any results." Even as he spoke the words, Miroku wiggled in his seat to wrestle his cell phone out of his pocket. Seeing that the other man was cooperating, Sesshoumaru leaned away from the human, letting him make the necessary phone call.

"Feh! Who could have thought that you being a pervert could be useful? This is probably the first and last time." Inuyasha teased his friend before crossing his arms over his chest.

Sesshoumaru stayed silent even as he thought about how Miroku's perverted tendencies had actually worked to his advantage beforehand. After all, it was because of a prank Inuyasha and Miroku had played on him that Kagura and Kanna had entered his life, and even if Sesshoumaru would never admit it to his brother and friend, he would be eternally grateful to them.

"Make any phone call necessary."

Miroku gulped loudly once again as he knew quite clearly what Sesshoumaru's words meant: failure was not an option.

* * *

Sesshoumaru Takahashi had never been in that part of town. Due to his upbringing and prominent part in the local society, he had never really needed to pay a visit to this neighborhood, which was reputed for being the seediest part of town. A perfect example was the overwhelming stench coming from a nearby overflowing dumpster was overpowering his sensitive sense of smell. The idea of his young precious daughter being dragged by Naraku in such a place only caused to inflate the dog demon's anger.

The second Miroku had found out from one of his former poker player where the present location of the Kurobara was, Sesshoumaru, Kagura and their associates had jumped into a car, and were on their way to the designated address.

"Where is number 1302?" Kagura wondered aloud. Going against the wishes of her fiancé, the wind sorceress had decided to join the search party which consisted of Sesshoumaru, Kouga, Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango. The dog demon did not like the idea of his woman being put in danger, but despite his recommendations, Kagura had still followed them.

'_As if I would stay behind while they went looking for my baby.' _The wind witch thought to herself as she eyed Sesshoumaru scowling in her direction. At the moment she could care less that he did not agree with her decision, all that mattered was finding her Kanna.

"It should be down a few blocks." Sango answered her friend's question. "Although it doesn't look like a big enough building to carry a casino and a brothel…" Even as the words left her lips, she could not help but send a glare in Miroku's direction. Even while she was still working at the Takahashi agency, she had suspected that her boyfriend was no innocent angel, but every time she was confronted with his shady past, feelings of anger rose inside her chest.

After noticing his girlfriend's upset, Miroku quickly decided to change the topic. "I am sure you are right dear Sango, come on let's go."

Not needing to be prompted more, the members of the rescue party started walking down the darkened street. Sunlight was only a few hours away, but despite that the street was still pretty animated, with people walking in and out of buildings.

"Never judge a book by its cover." Kouga warned them as they drew close to the dirty shabby looking building with the numbers 1302 painted on the front of it in big black block letters.

"Keh! Couldn't you find anything less corny to say?" Inuyasha mocked his friend. Laughing at Kouga was a good way for him to relieve his stress. Despite how much he wanted to hide it, just like everyone else, he was nervous, and feared the fate Naraku had reserved for Kanna.

"Shut up Dogshit, and follow my lead!" Kouga grinned before raising a powerful leg, and slamming the door opened, his trusted gun, Goraishi, in his hand.

"So much for our careful entrance." Inuyasha muttered as he looked at his brother quickly follow after the wolf demon.

Kagura had no intention to be left behind, so the second Inuyasha followed behind the two other demons she went in through the broken door as well. She heard Sango and Miroku follow closely behind her, but Kagura was too busy trying to keep pace with Sesshoumaru, Kouga and Inuyasha who were running up the dingy wooden stairs of the present Kurobara. The wolf demon suspected this might be where Kanna was being kept as it was the only place from which light was being noticed.

Surprised by the fact that for a famous brothel and gaming house the place was inconspicuously empty, a clear difference from the dingy street they had just left behind. Kagura kept following hoping and wishing to see her daughter soon.

The groups reached a long corridor, which was only illuminated by a faint light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"There's some noise coming from this room." Kouga whispered to his companions, pointing a clawed finger towards the last door on the right. A ray of bright light was coming from under the door of the room. As one they all started to silently walk towards the designated door, then came to a stop in front of it.

"We need to proceed slowly. I'll kick in the door, and go in first and see what's happening." The wolf demon instructed the six other people huddled around the door.

"Do not tell this Sesshoumaru what to do." The dog demon spat. Unlike Kouga, he had no firearm with him, and therefore had to contend himself with using his poison claws.

_'Do not worry Kanna, your parents have come for you.' _Sesshoumaru thought as he slashed away the dirty wooden door with his poison claws, providing an opening.

"Cocky bastard." Kouga muttered as he quickly rushed in after the dog demon. He then raised his gun and was about to yell for everyone inside the room to freeze as he would during any police assault he had conducted in the past, but before he could speak the words died in his throat. The sight inside the room was not quite what either of them had expected to see.

**To be continued…**

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! My last semester as a college student is wrapping up, so I'm going to be busy in the coming weeks, but I should have more time to write while conducting my job search. Until the next chapter (which title I haven't decided yet) my dear!


	78. New Directions

_**Chapter 78: New directions**_

A/N: Hello yes it's me. Long time no see! In order to make it up to you for the long wait, this will be a long update. I would like to apologize to all my dear (logged in) reviewers who have taken the time to leave me a review, and have not received an answer. There seems to be some issue with the reviews. I mentioned it to the support team, but have yet to hear back from them.

Thank you so much for taking the time to review:

**Syzhale **(Ah ha weeks later here's the next chapter.)

**Sesshkagufan13 **(No need to apologize for late reviews. After all I haven't been that consistant with my updates :p)

**Little25Victor **(I am back… sort of. Here's the next update, but I can't promise there will be many answers lol.)

**Anana553 **(Here's the next one!)

**BlackBurningHeart **(So sorry for the cliffhanger, but here's the update!)

**Roguereader **(Things will be moving slowly and sure from now on. I can't promise anything about Kanna's safety though.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

_The members of the rescue party started walking down the darkened street. Sunlight was only a few hours away, but despite that the street was still pretty animated, with people walking in and out of buildings._

"_Never judge a book by its cover." Kouga warned them as they drew close to the dirty shabby looking building with the numbers 1302 painted on the front of it in big black block letters._

"_Keh! Couldn't you find anything less corny to say?" Inuyasha mocked his friend. Laughing at Kouga was a good way for him to relieve his stress. Despite how much he wanted to hide it, just like everyone else, he was nervous, and feared the fate Naraku had reserved for Kanna._

"_Shut up Dogshit, and follow my lead!" Kouga grinned before raising a powerful leg, and slamming the door opened, his trusted gun, Goraishi, in his hand._

"_So much for our careful entrance." Inuyasha muttered as he looked at his brother quickly follow after the wolf demon._

_Kagura had no intention to be left behind, so the second Inuyasha followed behind the two other demons she went in through the broken door as well. She heard Sango and Miroku follow closely behind her, but Kagura was too busy trying to keep pace with Sesshoumaru, Kouga and Inuyasha who were running up the dingy wooden stairs of the present Kurobara. The wolf demon suspected this might be where Kanna was being kept as it was the only place from which light was being noticed._

_Surprised by the fact that for a famous brothel and gaming house the place was inconspicuously empty, a clear difference from the dingy street they had just left behind. Kagura kept following hoping and wishing to see her daughter soon._

_The groups reached a long corridor, which was only illuminated by a faint light bulb hanging from the ceiling. _

_ "There's some noise coming from this room." Kouga whispered to his companions, pointing a clawed finger towards the last door on the right. A ray of bright light was coming from under the door of the room. As one they all started to silently walk towards the designated door, then came to a stop in front of it._

_ "We need to proceed slowly. I'll kick in the door, and go in first and see what's happening." The wolf demon instructed the six other people huddled around the door._

_ "Do not tell this Sesshoumaru what to do." The dog demon spat. Unlike Kouga, he had no firearm with him, and therefore had to contend himself with using his poison claws._

'Do not worry Kanna, your parents have come for you.'_ Sesshoumaru thought as he slashed away the dirty wooden door with his poison claws, providing an opening._

_ "Cocky bastard." Kouga muttered as he quickly rushed in after the dog demon. He then raised his gun and was about to yell for everyone inside the room to freeze as he would during any police assault he had conducted in the past, but before he could speak the words died in his throat. The sight inside the room was not quite what either of them had expected to see._

As all the members rushed inside the room after Sesshoumaru, they all fell in silence. There was a long pregnant pause as they all took in their surroundings.

The silence was broken by Inuyasha "What the fuck?"

"How very eloquently put Dogshit." Kouga muttered as he walked past the shell shocked Kagura to inspect the room. He walked up to one of the two narrow beds, and started looking through a stack of papers discarded on the covers. Trying to find some clues, he was sure would distract him from the anger boiling inside him. He had been so sure that they were going to find Kanna, that the second his blue eyes laid on the empty bedroom, he had barely been able to keep in a frustrated growl.

Ignoring the usual banter between the two friends Kagura, voiced the dismay everyone else was sharing. "Was mom wrong?"

Following his fiancée's words, the dog demon turned away from her to the bed opposite the one Kouga was inspecting. With a shaking hand, he picked up a small white object. "No. Sakura was right. Kanna _was_ here."

As proof he handed to Kagura none other than Kuma-chan. Letting a gasp of pure pain escape her lips, she grabbed the small white plush toy, and hugged it to her chest. It still felt warm to her touch, and carried faint traces of her daughter's scent, making her miss her child even more.

"Hey guys take a look at this." Sango said. Feeling for her friends, she had kept quiet until then, silently making her own investigation.

Sesshoumaru was the first one to look at what his former employee was pointing out. After all he would have welcomed any reason to look away from his beloved's grief stricken crimson eyes.

"What is this?" Miroku looked at the shinning dust-like material littering the dirty carpet.

"Mirror shards that have been crushed." Sesshoumaru observed. He started recollecting in his mind what had transpired when Naraku had walked in on Sakura speaking to Kanna through their mirrors, and what was running through his mind was not a pretty picture.

_'The bastard has effectively ruined any way we had to contact Kanna…' _Sesshoumaru thought anger pouring through him as his eyes spied the busted and now useless black frame that used to be Kanna's small round mirror. All he was now hoping for was that the mirror was the only thing Naraku had decided to break. Even though he tried blocking it, the dog demon could not help but remember the state in which he had found Kagura before bringing her to his penthouse; after all, he had been the one to nurse her wounds. He could not help but wonder if Naraku had dared hurt his child. A possible answer to his unasked question was soon to come when Inuyasha let out a small growl.

Sesshoumaru quickly snapped his head to the side, trying to find out what had caused his brother's upset. Not bothering with words, the inu hanyou pointed a clawed finger to the ground. There on the old, dirty, dark green carpet was a blood stain.

His discovery caused the nose of the two other male demons in the room to twitch as they took in a large gulp of air, trying to identify who the blood belonged to. Unfortunately Kouga was not familiar enough with Kanna to know for sure if it was her blood. Instead of worrying the little girl's parents for no reason, he decided to keep looking through the stack of papers. A task Sango had started helping him with. Usually he did not abide of females putting their nose in his investigations, but the young human seemed more than able to handle herself.

When it came to Sesshoumaru, he was not sure if the blood belonged to his daughter, or to a previous user of the room. If one was to ask why, he would have haughtily answered that the small traces of blood were too faint for him to properly identify the person from who they had come, an issue one of his much stronger ancestors would not have had during the feudal era. The truth was that the stains were consequent enough for him to identify them, but the dog demon was much too upset to focus his sense of smell properly. There was however one thing he was sure of, which was that if his fiancée was to see the stain, she would be very upset; he therefore came to a very quick decision.

"Hide it!" The inu youkai quickly hissed to his brother, who with the help of Miroku quickly did as asked. The human handed to his friend a piece of white linen, and Inuyasha quickly dropped it to the floor, masking the browning blood stains. For once Sesshoumaru was glad that Kagura did not have a sense of smell as strong as his. He gave her a quick glance, and was relieved to see she had not noticed the interaction between him and his brother as she was too busy looking for clues of her own.

"Naraku was definitely here too." Kagura said, trying, but failing to control the tremor in her voice. "When I ran away from his house, I forgot this blanket behind. Kanna was so upset… I knitted it for her before she was even born. She loves it so much…" Picking up the white woolen material from the crumpled bed, Kagura clutched it to her chest along with Kuma-chan.

"We will get her back." Sesshoumaru vowed staring in Kagura's crimson eyes.

"I hope so." As she spoke the words, she finally let tears escape her eyes, and a traitorous sob make its way up her throat. She hated sounding so weak, hated people seeing past her tough veneer, but as much as she tried to keep in her sobs, she could feel tears rolling down her cheeks. She had been so sure that they would have found her daughter in the dingy bedroom that her disappointment was great, and despair was fast overcoming her.

"Sango take her home to the Fujibayashis." Sesshoumaru moved his gaze away from his beloved to instruct the young human. Whatever other gruesome finding he and his accomplices were sure to uncover next in the bedroom, he did not want his fiancée to be a witness of.

Even if the idea of refusing such an order from her _former_ employer crossed Sango's mind, the second her dark brown eyes saw how upset the wind sorceress was, she did not hesitate. Taking Kagura by the arm, she directed her out of the room.

The Kagura he knew and loved, would have argued with him, not liking to be ordered around or shut out like a child, but to his great shock, and concern, his lover quietly let the taijiya take her out of the room.

_'I promise you that I will get our daughter back… and you as well' _Sesshoumaru thought, pain running through him.

The first step to his plan was to make two important phone calls before even trying to find clues inside the accursed bedroom of the Kurobara.

Golden eyes trained on Inuyasha who unmasked the previously covered blood stain, Sesshoumaru took out his cell phone and dialed a phone number he now knew by heart.

"Ugh Hello…" A sleep-heavy female voice groaned into the receiver after a few rings.

Sesshoumaru had forgotten how late at night, or rather early in the morning it actually was, but did not feel slightly bad about waking up the person he wanted to talk to.

"I have a favor to ask." His grave voice spoke. Noting the unusualness of his request, she quickly woke up, and was all ears.

* * *

"Why don't you try getting some sleep?" A gentle female voice murmured in Kagura's ear. The wind sorceress could feel the presence looming over her, but did not make any effort to turn around and look at the other woman. She repressed a groan when the other demoness leaned forward to gently brush her dark bangs away from her crimson eyes. In any other circumstance Kagura would have been thrilled to get a taste of what by being raised by Naraku she had missed out on, notably the gentle touch of a mother. However at the moment there was nothing she wanted more than to be alone to do some serious thinking.

"No... and before you ask _again_, no I don't want any food either." She retorted with a sigh. Aiming to tune out her mother's incessant inquiries about her well being, Kagura turned on the bed she had been lying on, and turned away from Sakura. She then pressed her head against the pillows. Even if she had intended to follow her mother's suggestion, she knew that she would never be able to fall asleep. Despite being on the softest bedding she had ever encountered, she knew that sleep would evade her as long as she would not be reunited with her child.

With sorrowful eyes, Sakura stepped away from her daughter's side. Her ever supportive husband gave her shoulder a short reassuring squeeze before whispering in her ear "Let her be for now, she has every right to be upset."

Kagura barely paid attention to the demon couple as they left the bedroom she had been given to 'rest'. Sleep was the thing furthest from her mind as Kagura could not help but worry about her daughter. Every time she gave in to exhaustion and closed her eyes, the angst ridden crying face of her child would appear in her mind, preventing Kagura from even thinking about sleeping.

Another reason why she was finding it hard to fall asleep was that she had not heard from Sesshoumaru yet. When she had left him and their companions behind, she had fully expected for them to join her at the Fujibayashi's mansion soon, which had yet to happen. To Kagura's disappointment, Sesshoumaru had not even answered the numerous phone calls she had given him. She therefore had no way of knowing if he had found out anything about their daughter's whereabouts.

_'I'm so weak. I just couldn't stand to stay in the same room that bastard imprisoned Kanna in…'_ She clenched one of her fists near her side, anger and shame flowing through her. She knew that had she not left the bedroom in the Kurobara, she would have had a nervous breakdown.

_'But I need to stop whining, and help Sesshoumaru find our daughter. In order to stay sane, I need to do something. I need to help him any way I can.' _New found resolve burning in her chest, Kagura left the bed to reach for her purse, which she had earlier discarded on a desk present inside the room. Inside she found what she was looking for: a small notepad and a pen.

After retrieving the two items, the wind sorceress settled back on the bed, and started working.

_'I need to make a list of all the places Naraku could be keeping Kanna. If we have a place to start looking, our chances of retrieving her will increase.' _She encouraged herself as she started racking her brain. She also decided that writing down the names of some of Naraku's old fellows might be a good starting point as well. After all whether she liked it or not, Kagura still had ties to her former life.

_'As much as the idea of talking or seeing one of these people sickens me, I am willing to go through this to ensure Kanna's safety.' _She thought to herself as she penned down the name of one of her former regular client.

Kagura had scribbled down a few names of people on the white page when loud male voices suddenly came in from the other side of the door. Intrigued, she put aside her notepad on the side table, and sat up. She wholeheartedly expected to have her fiancé walk in through the door, ready to deliver some news to her, and was therefore shocked when an unknown young man burst the door of the guest bedroom opened and walked in as if he owned the place, a cocky grin on his lips.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked staring at the white hair and light lavender eyes of the new comer. She was sure that the fact that he shared an uncanny resemblance to her daughter was not the only reason why the young man's face seemed so familiar.

"It is a real pity to meet you under such circumstances big sister." The youth exclaimed.

Before Kagura had a chance to form some sort of response, a more familiar face popped inside the room.

"Please excuse _our_ younger brother; he has the manners of an ape." Byakuya sighed over dramatically as he stepped inside the guest room his half sister had been given.

"Younger brother?" Kagura echoed in surprise. Then she remembered that long ago while Kagura was still working at the Higurashi shrine, before she had known Sakura was her mother, the older demoness had showed her the picture of her son. Said son was the same man now standing a few inches away from the wind sorceress's bed.

"The name's Hakudoushi Fujibayashi. A pleasure to meet you. Forgive my surprise; I have only been informed of your existence not too long ago." He interrupted himself to send his older brother a sharp glare, to which Byakuya answered with a shrug and a grin, before resuming. "I also just found out by our dear mom that I'm an uncle, and that before I had a chance to meet her, my niece was snatched away by a perverted bastard. So what's been done to get her back?"

"Son, I was made to believe that I had raised you with better manners." Morio walked up to his youngest son, anger flashing in his purple gaze, the same eyes his son had. "There is no need to badger your sister in such a way."

"Welcome to the Fujibayashi family. You'll quickly find out that things easily turn into a three ring circus around here…" Byakuya whispered to Kagura as he sat next to her. "Especially when my father and brother are in the same room." He added thoughtfully.

"Silence!" Sakura intervened. "Right now is really not the time for one of your pointless arguments. We are faced with a crisis, and we need to support Kagura as much as we can…" The older demoness scanned the room with her intense crimson gaze, calling all male members of her family back to order. Chuckling at his mother's unusual outburst Byakuya gave his sister's hand a quick comforting squeeze then stood up from the soft mattress, preferring to stand next to his younger sibling.

"Kagura dear pay no attention to them. Besides there is someone else who is really looking forward to seeing you..." The words were barely out of Sakura's mouth that a short dark haired form ran over to the bed before jumping into Kagura's lap.

"Mommy." At hearing herself being addressed as such, Kagura's heart could not help but beat faster. She knew that it could not be her Kanna, but a small part of her heart could not help but hope. The bewildered wind sorceress then looked down at the sobbing child before saying in disbelief "Rin? What are you… how did you even get here?"

"I believe I am to thank for that." A beautiful red haired human female walked inside the room. "Do forgive me for the intrusion and for stopping by so late at night... or rather early in the morning, but this couldn't wait."

"Is that my niece?" Hakudoushi exclaimed purple gaze trained on Rin, who was holding on tightly to her adoptive mother while having tears stream down her cheeks. "She is human…" He added, trying to explain his shock.

"Brother you're such a snob." The elder of the two Fujibayashi youngsters commented before clapping his much shorter brother on the back.

"Rin is not Kagura's biological daughter, but she is a member of our family just as Kanna is." Sakura only showed her distaste at her son's comment by sending him a reproachful glare, which he chose to ignore.

"How many kids does she have?"

Kagura decided to completely ignore her youngest half brother's remark, and instead focused on wiping away her daughter's tears with the sleeve of her shirt. "Not that I do not appreciate the surprise, but what is Rin doing here?"

"Sesshoumaru called to apprise me of the situation with Kanna. I am so very sorry." Haruka said her saddened eyes resting on the mother/daughter duo. "You can thank your lawyer for Rin being here. He somehow talked the judge into giving Rin to you. As of today, she is officially your daughter. Sesshoumaru and you will only need to provide your signatures on some official documents, but this can wait."

"Not that I mind, but what made the judge change his mind about our case. I thought he wanted to investigate us further?" Kagura asked as she kept caressing her daughter's brown hair.

"Just count your blessings, and don't ask too many questions…" The orphanage director said, then added "Although something tells me that somehow your lawyer must have _changed_ the judge's mind."

Kagura who had spent most of her life in the presence of Naraku knew _exactly _what Haruka meant: bribing. It had been an eventuality Myouga had suggested early on in their adoption process, but Sesshoumaru and his high morals had rejected it. However the wind sorceress was pretty sure that Kanna's abduction had provoked his change of heart.

"Oh that is just fantastic, congratulations!" Sakura beamed. There was at least something positive happening in the life of her daughter. "Now everyone out! Rin needs to go to bed, so does Kagura." She added as she spied the dark smudges under her daughter's crimsons eyes.

"Rin has already packed a bag with all her necessities. I will contact you later on to get everything sorted out." Haruka declared before walking out of the luxurious bedroom, and heading back to bed.

"Mother I cannot leave yet. All my questions have not been answered." Hakudoushi protested. His words were ignored by everyone especially his parents. His father took a hold of his long pale locks, and dragged him along.

"Yep! Definitely a three ring circus…" Byakuya muttered to himself as he followed behind his father and brother.

"Kagura honey, you and Rin try to get some sleep. Sesshoumaru will surely get in contact with you soon to let you know how the search is going. In the meantime rest. You will not be much help if you are not at your best." With these last words of wisdom, the void demoness left the room she had prepared for her daughter.

"Mommy Miss Haruka told me about Kanna… is she really gone?" Seeing the sadness in the dark gaze of her adoptive daughter caused Kagura's heart to clench.

"It's true a bad man took her away from her." She paused in her answer to wipe some of Rin's tears before resuming. "But Sesshoumaru will get her back, so you don't need to cry anymore."

For the first time ever since she had been brought over to the Fujibayashi mansion, Rin allowed herself to smile. "I am sure daddy will get her back. He will make everything better. Like he always does." Feeling slightly appeased, Rin burrowed her small face against her mother's chest. Her smile widened when her mother resumed petting her head.

Not before long the young child had fallen asleep; her even breathing soon becoming the only sound present in the room. Kagura smiled slightly amazed at how easily her daughter had been pacified. Her blind faith into Sesshoumaru also stunned her.

_'If only I was as sure as her…' _Kagura thought. Doing her best not to move so as not to disturb the slumbering Rin, she reached for her discarded notepad, and resumed working on the list she had been compiling earlier. _'I'll work on it for a bit, then I will try to get in touch with Sesshoumaru again.'_

* * *

Sesshoumaru Takahashi hated wasting his time, especially when confronted with a situation where time management was so paramount. He knew they needed to get Kanna back, and fast. To his great displeasure their meticulous search of the bedroom had not provided any kind of clues as to where Naraku might be headed next. A more positive thing was that after a careful analysis the traces of blood Inuyasha had found on the carpet had at least turned out not to belong to his child. The blood seemed to belong to some demoness, who thankfully was not his daughter. The last thing Sesshoumaru would have ever wanted would have been having to tell his fiancée that Naraku had injured their daughter. As far as he knew Kanna was unharmed as of yet.

_'If my calculations are right, Rin should have arrived at the mansion already. She will be safe there with Kagura.'_ Only thinking about his other family members caused him to clench his fist in anger. Ever since his father had passed away, Sesshoumaru had done everything in his power to protect the ones he cared about. Sesshoumaru had always been the responsible one. The dependable one. The one people went to when facing an issue. He had financially taken care of both his mother, but also Izayoi. He had also made sure that Inuyasha had gone to school and had become a productive member of their advertising agency. Now that the hanyou was about to be married and be a father once again, Sesshoumaru knew he would have no need to worry about him anymore. He had taken care of everything around him for as long as they could remember, and this was why the idea of not being able to protect his own daughter angered him so much.

This was also the reason behind why going against what he usually stood for, he had agreed to make a generous 'donation' to the mayor, who would be soon running for re-election, in exchange for him convincing the judge presiding over his adoption case to grant him and Kagura custody of the little girl immediately. The money Sesshoumaru had used was the only ready cash he still had in his possession. The rest of his money had been invested back in the remodeling of his agency, and buying back the shares forfeited by Kanzaki. If Naraku as to ask again for a ransom, then the dog demon would need to get a loan from his bank as he was loath to sell shares of his company.

He decided to push away his thoughts, and focused on something else. With Rin settled at the Fujibayashis and out of harm's way, he could feel himself relax a little. At least she would be one thing he would not need to worry about.

_'Now only if I could find some way to track down Naraku…' _He thought angrily.

"Feh! We've inspected every inch of this damn place, can we get the hell out of here now?" Inuyasha asked, thrusting his brother out of his deep thoughts.

Until the inu hanyou spoke, everyone else had decided to wait until Sesshoumaru was ready to leave the Kurobara before suggesting it was time to leave. After all no one, not even the brave Kouga wanted to get their heads bit off by the angry dog demon.

"I doubt we will be able to find out anything more here." Miroku added, hoping his words would get though to his employer, and that if Sesshoumaru was mad he would take his anger out on Inuyasha, who had first suggested the idea, and not on Miroku who had simply been agreeing with his friend.

Sango silently nodded her assent. Even if she had not been instructed to, the second she had made sure the wind sorceress was settled back in the Fujibayashi mansion, she let her in the capable hands of her mother, and rushed back to the Kurobara, Kirara following faithfully behind her.

"To my greatest shock, I agree with Dogshit on this one." Kouga then addressed Sesshoumaru. "Don't know about you old man, but we need to rest. I've been on my feet for more than 48 hours straight, and I could use some rest. And don't give me that crap about our ancestors being able to run for days straight without taking a break. I get enough of that bullshit from my father in-law." The wolf demon groaned.

Just like his collaborators, Sesshoumaru knew that they would not be able to get any more information from the bedroom. As much as he hated the idea of having to tell Kagura he had no idea where their daughter could be, he knew that they needed to go home.

* * *

Sesshoumaru silently headed towards Morio's library. He was in search of a quiet place where he would not be disturbed, even though the house was quiet as everyone was in bed. In fact all his companions had headed for bed, Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku in one of the guest bedrooms of the Fujibayashi mansion, and Kouga had decided to drop by his house to check on his wife and newborn daughter and get some sleep before resuming his search for Kanna.

"You're back. Considering how upset you look, I take it you haven't found any clues." A voice came from behind him before he even had the time to turn on the lights in the imposing room. Just like everything in the mansion, every piece of furniture was from an imported designer brand. The room was big, and was lined with heavy dark wooden bookshelves, all filled with hundreds of books and rare volumes. By turning on the lights in the room, the dog demon revealed the majesty of the room to both his eyes, but also the ones of the person trailing behind him.

"Kagura." He greeted the other person present in the room. Feeling weary, he allowed a rare sigh to escape his lips. "No. We still have nothing to go on…" He then said wanting to change the subject asked "How is Rin?"

"Asleep. She was very upset, but has calmed down enough to fall asleep. She seemed very glad to finally come live with us… despite the circumstances." The wind sorceress walked up to her lover. She could easily discern on his face how strained the dog demon was feeling.

"I see." He paused for a time then decided to speak what he had wanted to tell her for the past hours. "I am sorry." He struggled to let the words out.

"You don't need to apologize to me." She smiled sadly before reaching up to tenderly cup his cheek in the palm of her hand. With the tip of her thumb, she traced the bags forming quickly under his left eye. She knew that mirroring bags were present under her eyes as she had not been able to get a bit of sleep.

He shook his head in disagreement. "I have failed." He shifted his golden eyes away from hers, not able to look her in the eye while admitting his shortcomings.

"Don't say that!" She snapped. "You have done all you could. Besides there are no reasons for you to give up. So we've had one set back. Big deal, we'll find her eventually. Naraku isn't crazy enough to hurt her. He knows he wouldn't get any money from us then, and money is everything to that sick bastard." Even as she spoke the words Kagura was able to convince herself. As much as she hated it, she knew how Naraku thought, and she knew that he would not hurt Kanna… at least not too badly.

Sesshoumaru who had always been the one to support her felt strange having the tables turned, and be in the position of the one needing comforting.

_'The witch is right. Apologizing like that is not like me nor is giving up.' _He thought to himself before speaking. "There has to be a way to get in touch with Naraku. As you said he loves nothing more than money, so I had anticipated for him to call me again about the ransom, but he has yet to do so."

"Alongside money, torturing people is his second passion. He's trying to fuck with our heads. He'll contact us again whenever he feels like we've suffered enough." Kagura said, her voice surprisingly devoid of the rage she was feeling inside.

"While you were out, I started putting together a list of people who might know where Naraku is hiding." She fished inside her pocket and retrieved the piece of paper containing names of people and places affiliated with the spider hanyou before handing it to Sesshoumaru.

"Who are all these people?" He asked as he quickly read through the list. The slight blush that appeared on her cheeks surprised him.

"Most of these people are my former… clients. They are close friends of Naraku, and would certainly know where he is... I am sure I could make them talk." The wind sorceress said, slightly afraid of how her lover would react. They had rarely spoken of her past as a prostitute, Sesshoumaru and her preferring to focus on their present and their future rather than her past.

As much as he could see the sense of her plan, the idea of Kagura having to interact with the men who used to pay for her sexual favors angered him. He could feel his jaw clamp in anger, and his claws dig into the fleshy part of his palm as he clenched his fist, but did his best to hide his rage from the wind sorceress.

"I see." He simply stated, doing his best to relax.

"I hate when you say that." She sighed. "I never know if it's a good thing or a bad thing."

Instead of answering her lament, he headed for one of the comfortable armchairs, then signaled for her to come closer. Once she did, he took hold of her arm and tugged her forward until she reluctantly sat on his lap. He encircled her tightly in his arms. She took in a large calming breath, then rested her head on his shoulders.

"There has to be another way." His warm breath tickled her pointy ear.

"I think it would be a good idea to talk to them. They might have an idea of where Naraku is hiding."

"Maybe." He paused deep in thought. "Although you will not talk to them." He ordered. Before she had a chance to protest his domineering attitude, he spoke again. "I will have Kouga, Touran and Sango take care of it. They will be more than able to get all the information we could need."

"But…" She tried to protest, but he interrupted her by pressing a quick kiss to her forehead.

"I need to stop by the bank when it opens this morning. Can you stay with Rin? You are the only person she really knows in this house. After being at the orphanage for so long, I am sure she will be in need of reassuring." He knew that by saying that he had effectively prevented her from formulating any kind of retort. He was aware that as much as Kagura would want to be able to help in a more hands on way, because he had played the 'Rin card', the wind sorceress was stuck.

"I guess… I don't think I have any other option, do I?" She sighed. He did not bother answering her question, preferring to tighten his hold on her.

Ever since Kanna had been snatched away, Sesshoumaru had not really displayed a lot of warmth towards her, but as of now being hugged by his arms, encircled by his warmth, she finally felt a little more at peace. She had a feeling that they were a long way away from getting Kanna back, but at this moment she allowed herself to relax a little bit.

'_We are going to be okay.'_ She thought to herself even as for the first time ever since she had received the accursed phone call from Naraku the previous afternoon, she allowed her eyes to drift close, and sleep to overcome her.

As Kagura's breaths evened out, a clear sign that she was slumbering deeply, Sesshoumaru stood up, carrying her in his arms. He laid her on one of the plush couches present in the library then covered her with a blanket crumpled on one of the armchairs. Without sparing her a glance, he turned off the lights and left the room.

* * *

Mayumi hated herself. She hated the fact that she had been weak enough to fall under the spell of Naraku, and hated the fact that she was fearful enough to not intervene in favor of the sleeping young child bundled in the sofa next to her.

"I am going out, look after the brat." Naraku stated as he put his jacket on. "I am sure that you won't say anything to anyone, right my dear?"

The young demoness did not waste any time to answer. "Yes master. Of course master."

Mayumi also hated the fact that the hanyou was right in her assumption that she would not say anything while he was gone.

_'I would but he would take it out on my mother… If only there was a way to make sure that Naraku wouldn't retaliate against my mom then I would help that poor kid.' _The young pale haired demoness thought to herself her heart clenching as she thought about how scared Kanna must be, and how in such pain the child's mother should be. _'At least Kanna was able to fall asleep. Hopefully Naraku is not able to reach her in her dreams.'_

"Do take the time to clean up. Dried blood is not something I find appealing." His blood colored eyes rested on the browned smudges still present under the young female's nose; only remnants of her earlier nosebleed caused by the punch Naraku had laid on her earlier in the evening.

"Yes master." She gently rested her fingers under her nose as she answered.

Satisfied by her words, Naraku walked out of the room. _'I think it is time to remind my dear Sesshoumaru and daughter of me.'_

**To be continued…**

A/N: I don't know when the next one will be out, nor do I know the title, but I can assure you that things will be moving on. I am now officially a college graduate! Woot! Woot! And I'm looking for a grown up job. During my search I should have more time to update, so you can expect the next chapter sooner.


	79. Unexpected help

_**Chapter 79: Unexpected help**_

A/N: A much faster update. After this chapter I expect things to start unraveling even faster :) Less reviews, but just as many hits on the story, so I'm still glad. I would love to get feedback though now that the story is coming closer to its end.

Also since its new remodeling our dear fanfic website only allows me to answer reviews by PM, don't get freaked out if you get one from me lol.

One more thank you to my dear reviewers:

**Syzhale **

**Anana553 **

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Little25Victor **(Thank you. I will be needing all the luck possible lol. No Hakudoushi in this chapter, but we'll see more of him later on. Is he that bad of a guy? We'll see.)

**Roguereader **(Oh no no, I am merely a holder of a Bachelor's of arts in communications studies. I am however still blushing from your amazing praise. There will be no revealing of names or numbers to my dear readers as I am sure Kagura appreciates lol)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"Kanna was _what_?" Jakotsu yelled sitting up in bed. He tightened his hold on the cell phone cradled in his hand in pure shock. Until the unusual early morning call he had just answered, the flamboyant young human had been peacefully sleeping while nestled in his boyfriend's arms as per his habit.

"Keep it down." Bankotsu groaned before rolling over and covering his head with his pillow in an effort to block out Jakotsu's suddenly shrill voice. It was way too early for him to be up. His boyfriend sent him a glare but did as told. Jakotsu slipped out of bed, and headed towards the large window adorning the wall of their bedroom. He pushed the burgundy curtain aside to peer at the rising sun.

"Where did you hear that?" Jakotsu whispered inside his phone.

"Sesshoumaru told me." Suikotsu sighed in his phone before reaching for an opened folder on his desk and scribbling something down in it. He had pulled an all-nighter at his clinic taking care of a young very ill patient, and was exhausted. However after Sesshoumaru had called earlier asking him to look into hospitals and other clinics for a possible location for Naraku, Suikotsu had asked him the reason behind the request. The dog demon had quickly filled him on the situation, and Suikotsu had wasted no time relying it to his friend as he knew how close Jakotsu was to Kanna; on more than one occasion he had heard his friend say he considered the child to be his niece.

Moreover the young doctor was aware that other than his medical degree, another reason why Sesshoumaru had called upon him was Suikotsu's former ties to the underworld. Suikotsu was also aware that of all the members of the illustrious Band of Seven, Bankotsu and Jakotsu were the ones who still had the most connections with the underworld; if anyone was to be helpful in finding Kanna, it would be them.

"Banks and I will look into it. That bastard of Naraku is going to be sorry he messed up with our dear little Kanna." Jakotsu swore as he hung up the phone. He was so angry that he did not express his usual loving parting greeting to his long time friend.

"What's got you so riled up? I heard you mention Kanna." Bankotsu asked as he sat up in bed, now that he had been awoken by Jakotsu's worried tone, he wanted to find out what was happening. His movement caused the blanket he had been covering himself with pool down around his waist, revealing his naked chest. In any other occasion seeing his lover with his long hair unbound and running messily around his shoulders, and his naked torso exposed would have been enough for Jakotsu to jump him, but the situation was too dire for him to think about sex.

"She was kidnapped, and we're going to help Kagura get her back." The words were barely out of Jakotsu's mouth that his older lover stood up from the bed and stretched.

"Who took her?"

"Naraku Onigumo." Jakotsu answered with a disgusted frown.

"Hum even though we retired from this kind of business ages ago, something always told me that someday we'd have a run in with that bastard… Guess it's time to call in some favors… although it may a little early in the morning to do that." Bankotsu said as he looked over to the bleak light coming from the window. He then headed for the nearby closet to get something to wear.

"Who are you kidding? You know as well as I do that our old friends don't go to bed until much later." Jakotsu retorted as he too started getting dressed and cleaned up.

_'Don't worry Kanna-chan. Uncle Jakotsu will make sure you get back to your mother's arms as soon as possible.' _The young human thought to himself as he headed for the door of the bedroom. For the first time in a long time he left his apartment, not even taking the time to carefully apply his usual bright make up.

* * *

"Am I doing this right mommy?" Kagura averted her crimson gaze from her knitting needles to Rin. Her newly official daughter was seated next to her in the plush bed placed in the luxurious bedroom, which had been giving to her by Sakura. Rin's duty was to undo the lump of white yarn as Kagura stitched it. In reality the child was slowing her young mother more than helping, but it had been the only way the wind sorceress had found to keep her daughter occupied while they waited for Sesshoumaru to come home with some news.

_'Maybe it was a mistake to give him the names of some of my former clients… Every time he is reminded of my past, I fear he will realize I am not good enough for him.' _ She thought sadly. Then as she noticed the way Rin was looking at her, expectantly, she was reminded of where she was.

"Yes. You're doing very well." The wind sorceress struggled to smile at Rin who beamed back at her. "Have you picked which second color you want, and with what pattern?"

"Can Rin have orange flowers? I want a bunch of them in the middle of the blanket."

"Of course. I'm sure there's some orange in there. Good thing there are so many different colored wools. Who would have thought that my mom shared my liking for knitting?" The wind sorceress stated as she fished for some orange colored yarn inside the basket fill to the brim with all knitting necessities, which Sakura had fetched for her a couple hours ago.

"I like it too. It's fun. Maybe you can teach Kanna too when she comes back." Rin's comment caused a sad smile to appear on her mother's lips. The way the child was blindly assured that her younger sister would be coming back amazed her.

_'If only I had that much hope… Hopefully Sesshoumaru stops by soon. I haven't talked to him ever since last night; I can't wait to know what he found out. I feel completely left out. It's not like that bastard of Naraku has dared call me again either.' _She thought to herself as her eyes shifted briefly to her cell phone, which she had left on the nearby side table for easy and quick access.

"Yes. I am sure Kanna would love it too." The wind sorceress forced a smile for her daughter's benefit. "Now I'll show you how to make the prettiest orange flowers." Kagura said as she picked up the colored yarn.

* * *

"I am sorry but there are still no signs of him." A female voice sighed inside her phone. She had been awakened at an extremely early hour by her employer, and after spending the best of the past seven hours interrogating low-lives she was truly exhausted. As much as she did not care for Kagura, she still found what happened to the young woman's daughter utterly disgusting. The fact that she felt slightly responsible for what had happened contributed to her feelings as well. She was sure that had she not suggested Kagura go public with her story, Naraku would have not felt cornered, and would not have resorted to such drastic measures as abduction.

"Have you gone through the whole list?" Sesshoumaru asked the young blue haired woman.

"Yes. Most of them were useless, but I've got some new leads to follow though. That disgusting bastard of Sun-ho was so busy looking down my cleavage that he did not even notice all the information I was extracting from him. I have no idea where you found out about that man, but I can assure you I have never met a more disgusting lecher."

"What did he tell you?" Sesshoumaru did his best not to growl angrily when he opened his mouth. He would rather poke his eyes out before telling her that Sun-ho was one of his fiancée's previous clients.

"He mentioned the location of one of Naraku's cronies. I'll pay him a visit as well, and see if he knows where that nasty spider may be hiding." Touran then paused before asking something else. She was not sure her employer and former lover would answer, but she still felt it was worth a shot. "Talking about him, has he called you again about a possible ransom?" She had researched the dark hanyou enough to know that money was always a driving factor for him, and was therefore surprised that he had not asked Sesshoumaru for ransom money again.

"No. Keep looking Touran." Not bothering to say some sort of goodbye, he shut down the connection then slid his cell phone inside his pants pocket.

Even though he was usually not of a friendly nature, he knew that right now he was downright unfairly rude. The reason for his upset was simple enough.

_'I cannot stand the fact that I have to rely on that accursed list Kagura gave me to help find Kanna.' _He thought clenching his fist. He was aware of Kagura's past, had met her former client Sousuke Yamashita, and had even for a time had Naraku's black book in his possession but the fact of having a list of male names scribbled down in Kagura's handwriting had made everything so much more real. He was tired and disgusted, and was nowhere nearer to find his abducted daughter, which angered him even more.

Sesshoumaru reached for his temple with two clawed fingers, and gently massaged his skin. For the past hour while he had been getting reports from his many 'agents' spread around the city, he had done his best to push past the pain of his throbbing migraine, but now it was almost too much for him to bear. He had already drunk three cups of the tea Suikotsu had made for him, and knew it was just a matter of time before the pain eased off. In the meantime he decided to rely on something else to help him relax.

In order not to disturb the many occupants of the mansion, and to have enough privacy to make all the calls he needed, the dog demon had decided to stand outside on one of the many balconies adorning the façade of the house. The one he had chosen to take refuge on overlooked the gardens of the estate, and allowed him to see the bright spring sun shining on the colorful rose beds.

Despite the peaceful view in front of him, he was far from being relaxed. However he knew of something that would help take the edge off until the benefits of his foul tasting herbal tea kicked in. The dog demon leaned his back against the wall and retrieved from his shirt breast pocket the small box he had sent Jaken to pick up for him. He then took one small object from the box before placing it back in his pocket, and rolled the object between two long clawed fingers. Just as he was about to bring the object to his mouth, someone joined him on the balcony.

"Keh! You must really be feeling bad if you resorted to _that_." A mocking voice came from behind the dog demon. "You did swear to stop whoring around, and never smoke again after our old man died."

"What do you want little brother?" Sesshoumaru snapped even if he did crush the small cigarette between his fingers. He was highly embarrassed to have been caught, by Inuyasha of all people, in such a moment of weakness. After all he _had_ sworn to stop smoking after his father had been killed in a freak car accident. Since he had had to look after not only his teenage younger half sibling, but also his mother and step mother while taking over the agency, the dog demon had vowed to make sure he would not endanger his life or let anything distract him. His need to look after so many things and people in his father's stead had not only forced him to grow up faster, but was also the main reason why he had kept every woman at bay, preferring one night stands or purely sexual relationships as the one he had had with Touran over romantic relationships. That was until he had met Kagura.

"Kagura thought you left the house, but I could smell you were somewhere inside this huge place. It'd be so easy to get lost inside this damn place." Inuyasha spat as he walked to stand next to his brother. "Damn I bet you didn't get any sleep; you really look fucked up. Smells like you didn't even take a shower." The younger half sibling remarked as his golden eyes took in his brother's unusual disheveled appearance. In fact Sesshoumaru had not gotten any sleep nor had he changed his clothes, which were looking uncommonly rumpled. To the surprise of the half dog demon Sesshoumaru was also displaying bags under his eyes, which was something his younger brother had never seen on him.

"I have had much to do."

"Yeah I heard from Miroku. He decided to go with Sango on her tour of places you asked her to check out. He's very protective of her…Feh! Never thought I'd ever see that lecher fall in love. Although I could say the same about you." Inuyasha let out a snort then paused for a long time, thinking about what to say, and how to best say it before speaking again. "You know just because you take a breather doesn't mean the bastard is going to hurt her."

"I have no time for your nonsense Inuyasha, I am awaiting a call from my banker." Hoping to cause his brother to shut up, the dog demon turned around. It was not a complete lie. Earlier in the morning he had called his bank with a request for a loan in case Naraku would ask again for a ransom. The amount of money was staggering, but with Morio's backing, and putting up his father's beach house as collateral, Sesshoumaru was pretty sure he would be able to gather up half of the money Naraku had requested. The dog demon who had no wish to give in to the dark hanyou's demands was more than willing to go back on his earlier promise to not deal with Naraku, and compromise his morals if it was to ensure his daughter's safety.

Inuyasha smiled sadly at seeing how his brother was trying to shut him out. However the hanyou was not about to be deterred this easily. "If someone was to hurt Shippou, Kagome or the baby, I would go crazy. I don't know how you manage to keep everything in this much."

At his brother's comment, Sesshoumaru thawed a little bit. "It is expected for this Sesshoumaru to be strong." He paused then added in almost a whisper "It is the least I can do."

Inuyasha was suddenly able to see through his brother. He could now see why Sesshoumaru had taken refuge on the balcony, far from the others; especially his fiancée and newly adopted daughter. And why he had done his best to stay out of the wind sorceress's reach, and had not even stopped by to see Rin ever since she had become his official daughter.

"Don't blame yourself!" Inuyasha snapped before adding. "You make it sound as if you are the only reason Kanna went missing. It's not your fault that the fucking bastard kidnapped her."

"I was supposed to protect her. What kind of man, of father fails to protect his own children?" Sesshoumaru roared, finally letting out the thought that had been plaguing his mind ever since the previous afternoon.

"Feh! You're doing all you can to get her back." The half demon pointed out.

"It is not enough. Do you have any idea how it feels to see the woman you love die from the inside out? Because that is _exactly _ what is happening to Kagura." He snarled angrily. "She has spent the entire morning knitting a fucking blanket because she would rather not think about our daughter who I could not find." After dropping by his bank, Sesshoumaru had come back to the house to look in on Kagura and Rin unbeknownst to the two of them. He had been shocked to see the two females settled on the wind sorceress's bed, knitting what he believed to be a blanket. The image had torn at his heart. He had convinced himself that the wind sorceress had resorted to her old past time in order to find refuge from her thoughts just as she had once confided in him she used to do when she loved with Naraku. As she had admitted to him herself it was during a bout of melancholy that she had made Kanna's baby blanket, hoping that one day she and her unborn child would be free. The only occasion when she had not knitted a blanket in order to distract herself from her pain had been when she had made a thank you gift for Sesshoumaru months ago.

"Has it not occurred to you that maybe Kagura's just looking for a way to distract her mind because her pompous ass of a fiancé has not bothered calling her in hours? Even someone as emotionally challenged as you should've realized that she's just looking for a way to make Rin and herself feel better 'cose you're not here for them!"

"How do you expect me to do both? I am too busy worrying about getting out daughter back, and have no time to concern myself with the wind witch's feelings." Sesshoumaru snapped.

"But…" Inuyasha started, but his brother pretended he had never tried to protest. The hanyou was aware that this was one of the most emotional discussion he had ever had with his brother, and was not surprised to see Sesshoumaru revert to his usual cold demeanor now that his younger half sibling was getting closer to unveiling his innermost feelings and thoughts. He was actually surprised Sesshoumaru had allowed himself to disclose so much, and expected him to have put an end to the conversation way earlier. Inuyasha therefore decided to let the matter drop; lest the situation became uncomfortable for the two of them. After all he himself was not too keen on letting his big brother know about his own feelings.

"That will be all." Sesshoumaru ignored his brother's muttered curses, even if he did make out the word "asshole", and preferred to walk back inside the house. Instead of following his half brother's advice, he headed towards the garage where he had left his car. He had business to attend.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right address?" Bankotsu asked his companion as he scanned his surroundings wearily. Ever since the early morning phone call of Suikotsu, they had been trampling around town trying to find information about Kanna's whereabouts. Their quest had brought them over to the run down building they were now standing in front of.

"Why do you always doubt me?" Jakotsu pouted, then smiled when something occurred to him. Before they had been sent to juvenile prison, all these years ago, Jakotsu and Bankotsu had broken up for a very short time period. During this time Jakotsu had briefly seen another man. However this had not lasted long as he quickly realized his Bankotsu was the one and only for him. The two therefore wasted no time reuniting.

When they had first set out to find some information about Kanna, asking his ex-boyfriend Hidenka had been a no brainer for Jakotsu, after all he was a major lord in the underworld, and knew just about anybody. The only issue was that he had a clear hatred for Bankotsu, who he blamed for having stolen Jakotsu away.

"Say, your sudden upset wouldn't have to do with the identity of the person who gave us the tip?" Jakotsu asked coyly. "I know how much you dislike Hidenka, but when he realized how much I do care about Kanna, he quickly helped… you wouldn't happen to be jealous, would you?"

"Just shut up and get moving." The blushing other man snapped, causing his partner to snicker. Without waiting for his lover he then headed up the stairs in search for apartment #201. When he found the wooden door bearing the number they were looking for, something told him they had found the place.

"What are you waiting for? Knock." Jakotsu instructed his boyfriend. Doing as told, Bankotsu raised his knuckled and gave three short knocks on the paint chipped door.

To both of their surprise the door was quickly opened. It revealed a woman with an old faded print dress, and a bunch of graying messy hair on her head.

"Mayumi!" The older demoness who had opened the door exclaimed. The eager expression on her face melted away to be replaced by anxiety and weariness when she saw to unknown young men standing outside of her door. Ever since she had lost her job, no one ever came to visit her anymore.

"No, but we would love to talk to her." Bankotsu said, trying to convey as much warmth and reassurance as possible with his smile. He decided to play the 'good cop' as he knew how unfeeling his boyfriend could be when dealing with females; especially one who they believed was involved with the abduction of his precious Kanna.

"Who are you?" The frightened woman asked.

Not having the patience of his boyfriend, Jakotsu decided to rely on what he deemed to be a more efficient method. He fished out an object from his back pocket, an object which for the past few years had spent its time locked safely on the top shelf of his closet.

'_Good thing I haven't lost the hang of it.' _Jakotsu thought to himself as he pointed the small shiny gun right at the woman's head. "Your worst nightmare if you don't get us in contact with your daughter."

"I won't mock you for the cheesy line, but did you really have to get violent?" Bankotsu sighed, his dark eyes resting on his lover's unwavering hand.

"I don't have any money… I will do whatever you want, but please don't hurt me." The older demoness burst into tears.

"No need for waterworks." Jakotsu spat angry and disgusted. Tears were a prime reason why he hated females; in his mind they were too often prone to them. The fact that he had never seen Kagura or Kanna cry was a reason why he appreciated the two of them.

"Well just call your damn daughter, and we'll make sure that nothing bad happens." Bankotsu said with a grin. It had been a long time since he had been involved in such operations, and found that he had missed some parts of his former life. He pushed the older demoness backward, forcing her back in the small studio. He and Jakotsu followed behind her, the shiny gun still pointing towards the scared woman.

It was only after his lover had locked the door of the tiny apartment behind them that Jakotsu allowed his arm to relax.

"So how about giving your kid a phone call?"

* * *

Mayumi pushed away the plate, which not too long ago had contained a turkey sandwich, away from her. She was sitting at the small wooden table, waiting for Naraku to come back. He had left several hours ago, and had not bothered coming in contact with her during that span of time.

_'That bastard must know that I would not do anything against him.' _ She thought angrily even if she didn't do anything to prove her employer wrong. She sat up, and moved towards the bed where Kanna still sat. As much as she wanted to help the child, her fear of the consequences were too great.

"You didn't eat?" Mayumi stated as she looked at Kanna's untouched plate. "You know you're the only person who will get hurt if you don't eat."

"Kanna is not hungry." She simply stated. One thing she really regretted at the moment was not having the comfort of her blanket or Kuma-chan. She had not been lying when she had told the other pale haired demoness that she did not want to eat the sandwich she had made for her. Ever since Naraku had taken her away, her appetite had completely disappeared. One cause was that she could not chase from her mind the message the spider hanyou had relayed from Sesshoumaru when they had been talking on the phone.

_'Maybe Naraku is right… maybe Sesshoumaru do not want me…' _Her previous fears came back; the same ones that had caused her to behave in a mean fashion towards Rin when they had first been introduced many months ago.

"Fine. If you don't want to eat I won't force you… But I'm sure your mother would appreciate it if you agreed to eat something…I mean it would be a waste if you died of anger before she was to get you back." Despite the nonchalant way the young woman had spoken, her words managed to reach Kanna. The last thing she wanted was to disappoint her mother in any way.

Reluctantly the little girl picked up the neglected sandwich and brought it to her lips before nibbling on it. As she started chewing, Kanna realized that she was actually starving. Before she even realized it, the food Mayumi had quickly put together for her was all gone. The young child then picked up the glass of water that had been placed next to her plate, and gulped it down.

Mayumi allowed a small smile to grace her lips. She may have contributed to Naraku's evil plan, and therefore Kagura's pain, but she was rejoicing in the fact that she had made the child eat.

_ 'At least I managed to make Kanna eat… I would never forgive myself if she got hurt more than necessary.' _Still happy over her small victory, Mayumi jolted when she heard her phone ring. The idea of talking to Naraku suddenly made all the positive feelings that had been coursing through her evaporate.

Reluctantly she picked up her cell phone, and decided to check if Naraku was the one calling. She was surprised to see that she did not know the number displayed on the screen of her phone. She decided to answer and was shocked to hear her mother's voice.

"Mayumi." The older demoness said in a shaky voice.

"Mom? Why are you calling?... I told you I was working." The younger demoness said, nervously twirling a long strand of her pale colored hair around her finger. The last thing she wanted was to have her mother find out about her involvement with Naraku; she would be too ashamed.

"Mayumi honey… I don't know what they're talking about… they told me that you did something so awful… I just can't believe it! I told them you weren't like that… but they won't believe me."

"Who's _they_ mom?" Mayumi asked, a sinking feeling in her chest.

"I don't know… listen. They have a gun… and they say that you have a child with you. Oh honey what have you done?" The older demoness broke into uncontrollable sobs again.

"Mom I can explain…" Mayumi started as she felt a prickling sensation spread through her face, and tears pool into her eyes.

"Hush honey. I am sure that anything you did, you did it because of me." As much as it broke her heart, the older woman was sure that it was so.

"Oh mom. I did something so horrible; you will never be able to forgive me." Mayumi choked out in a sob.

However her mother never had the chance to respond. Mayumi heard a shuffling sound, and the shaky voice of the older demoness was replaced by the one of a young man.

"Dear Mayumi, you have taken something, or rather someone really important to me, and I want to get her back."

"I will do whatever you want, but please do not hurt my mom." She sobbed. All she had ever done for Naraku had been to ensure her mother would be provided for and unharmed.

"Sounds like we'll get along just fine then." The man grinned cruelly.

**To be continued…**

A/N: Sesshoumaru is distancing himself from Kagura, and Jakotsu and Bankotsu have a serious lead. We'll see what will happen next time in the exciting chapter 80 (Yes already!). The chappie will be named **Betrayal**. The title is pretty self explanatory, no?


	80. Betrayal

_**Chapter 80: Betrayal**_

A/N: Woot! Woot! 80 chapters, what a milestone! Also I am so happy to say that my story was nominated by readers of the Feudal Association. Such an honor, that really pleased little old me. Now onto our chapter.

Less reviews than usual, so I'm guessing you guys may be getting bored by the lack of action. Not to worry, this chapter will be the last one before things accelerate. In fact there will be quite a major surprise in this one. Hopefully you guys won't be _too _mad at me lol.

Thank you so much to you guys for the review.

**Anana553 **

**BlackBurningHeart**

**kikyoisaBYOTCH**

**Little25Victor **(Well there are actually going to be two betrayals, but who will be concerned? Wait and see.)

**Jaimed1968 **(Thanks again for the announcement)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

_Reluctantly Mayumi picked up her cell phone, and decided to check if Naraku was the one calling. She was surprised to see that she did not know the number displayed on the screen of her phone. She decided to answer and was shocked to hear her mother's voice._

_ "Mayumi." The older demoness said in a shaky voice._

_ "Mom? Why are you calling?... I told you I was working." The younger demoness said, nervously twirling a long strand of her pale colored hair around her finger. The last thing she wanted was to have her mother find out about her involvement with Naraku; she would be too ashamed._

_ "Mayumi honey… I don't know what they're talking about… they told me that you did something so awful… I just can't believe it! I told them you weren't like that… but they won't believe me."_

_ "Who's they mom?" Mayumi asked, a sinking feeling in her chest._

_ "I don't know… listen. They have a gun… and they say that you have a child with you. Oh honey what have you done?" The older demoness broke into uncontrollable sobs again._

_ "Mom I can explain…" Mayumi started as she felt a prickling sensation spread through her face, and tears pool into her eyes._

"_Hush honey. I am sure that anything you did, you did it because of me." As much as it broke her heart, the older woman was sure that it was so._

_ "Oh mom. I did something so horrible; you will never be able to forgive me." Mayumi choked out in a sob._

_However her mother never had the chance to respond. Mayumi heard a shuffling sound, and the shaky voice of the older demoness was replaced by the one of a young man._

_ "Dear Mayumi, you have taken something, or rather someone really important to me, and I want to get her back."_

_ "I will do whatever you want, but please do not hurt my mom." She sobbed. All she had ever done for Naraku had been to ensure her mother would be provided for and unharmed._

_ "Sounds like we'll get along just fine then." The man grinned cruelly. _"Now let's get to the bottom of things. Where exactly are you?"

"I… we are in an office owned by Naraku… but he also uses it as a bedroom… I mean there's a bed and a bathroom…" The young demoness stammered. She wanted to please the mysterious men who were threatening her mother, deciding to ignore the threat Naraku would represent to her if he was to find out that she was betraying him.

"Where is it?" Jakotsu asked impatient. He did not care much if Naraku was hiding away in a closet or in a luxurious hotel suite, all he wanted to know was where the spider was hiding away.

"Well we're on the outskirts of town… but Naraku said we will be moving soon." Then anticipating the irritated man's next question, she added. "I do not know yet where we will be relocating."

"But you will be sure to let me know, yes?"

"Yes of course… I told you I will do whatever you want me to as long as you do not hurt my mom." She then paused wondering if she should go forward with the request she wanted to make. Her concern for her mother forced her to follow her heart. She took a deep breath and licked her lower lips, wishing that she would have enough strength to get through the difficult situation she and her mother had suddenly found themselves in. "I want to talk to her."

"And what makes you think you are in any position to make demands?" Jakotsu chuckled, he was slightly startled when his lover tugged on his hair calling for him to avert his attention from his phone conversation to Bankotsu.

"Unlike you, I don't get off on pointing guns at old women, so if you could speed things up…" The longer haired young human flicked his ponytail over his shoulder as he slightly lowered the shiny gun he was still holding in the general direction of Mayumi's mother. The older woman was still sobbing, fat tears escaping her eyes. However because Jakotsu had earlier barked at her to keep quiet, she was firmly holding her two whitened hands clasped over her mouth.

"Yeah yeah." Jakotsu scoffed even if he did as told. "So do we have an agreement?" This time he addressed himself again to Mayumi over the phone.

"Please let me talk to my mom, I just want to make sure she is okay." She could only hope that the man on the other end of the line would give into her plea.

"Hum well I do love to hear people beg… maybe I will give into your request.. although you should know that your dear old mom might not be in any shape to talk to you." His words caused Mayumi to let out a fearful whimper.

"I am begging you. I just want to make sure she is okay. If you let me talk to her, I swear I will do whatever I can to help you get Kanna back." Mayumi said licking her lips once more to calm her nerves.

"I hope for your mother's sake that you are telling the truth." Jakotsu said before extending the cell phone to his lover. "Here hand over the phone to her mother."

"I never thought I'd see you soften up that much; seems to me like Kanna has done a number on you." Bankotsu grinned. He took the small device then not letting go of the gun crouched next to the older woman, who had crumbled to the ground earlier in pure shock. He placed the phone against the face of the shivering woman only giving her the words "Your daughter" as an explanation.

"Mayumi honey…" She started tentatively.

"Oh mom, are you hurt?" Her daughter sighed, truly relieved.

"No. I'm alright. Just do…" The older woman had barely started speaking that Jakotsu plucked the phone away from her.

"Enough with the touching reunion!" Jakotsu turned his attention back to Mayumi. "I fulfilled my end of the bargain, now it is your time to do yours."

Before Mayumi had a chance to vow her help to the men threatening her mother, she heard voices coming from the corridor leading to the room where Naraku had left her and Kanna alone to share a meal.

"Naraku is coming! I will call you back the second he leaves again to let you know where we will relocate. He always leaves us alone after he moves us."

"How can I be assured that this isn't a trick?"

"You will have to trust me just as I have to trust you with my mother's life. However unlike you I'm not holding a gun to Kanna's head, she's doing fine." Mayumi pointed out. She could not help but steal a glance towards the main door leading to the corridor. The last she would want would be to have Naraku come upon her revealing his plans to one of his enemies.

"I really have to hang up now. I promise to call you, but please leave my mother unharmed. In exchange I will make sure that you will have Kanna back."

"We have an agreement." Jakotsu agreed. He then altered his tone of voice, wanting Mayumi to really understand that he was not someone to play with. "However if I do not hear from you by midnight, your mother will suffer. I will not kill her, but I cannot guarantee that when you two are reunited she will be… _complete_." He left his threat pending, letting the young woman fill in whatever horror her mind could conjure. Jakotsu knew from past experiences that this was a most effective technique.

He heard her gasp in a mix of shock and fear, but when Mayumi opened her mouth to speak, it was on an unwavering voice. "I will do as you ask."

Jakotsu cut off the connection then as he placed his cell phone back in his pocket muttered to himself. "Hum I actually like that girl, she does have a backbone."

"You? Liking another woman? And I thought Kagura was just the one exception, should I be worried?" Bankotsu grinned.

"Do not be ridiculous. As long as you stay fit and handsome, you have nothing to worry about." Jakotsu beamed back at him, his answer causing his boyfriend to frown.

"You mean you're only with me for my looks?"

"Ugh Bankotsu! Please let's not explore this subject in front of an audience." The taller of the two pointed towards Mayumi's mother who was now looking at them with wide terrified eyes. "Now what are we going to do with her?" He gently tapped two fingers against his soft lips as he thought about a solution to their problem.

"Why don't we bring her over to the center? It's pretty isolated, and no one could ever imagine we have an old lady tied up in the basement." Jakotsu smiled at his boyfriend's suggestion.

"Brilliant idea! There you go honey, I knew there had to have been a reason other than your body and great hair I fell in love with you." Jakotsu walked towards the woman, really regretting his lack of foresight. _'I really should have thought about bringing ropes. What an oversight.' _He lamented. "I am sorry we have nothing to tie you with, guess we'll just have to do without."

Jakotsu tugged her arm upwards, forcing the older woman to come to a standing position. Bankotsu then communicated to her a few rules.

"We're going for a ride. As long as you stay nice and quiet, we won't have an issue, if you don't then… I can't guarantee your safety." In order to emphasize his point, he removed the safety on his gun and pointed it to her head.

"I will do whatever you want." She echoed her daughter's earlier words as she allowed the two young humans to tug her towards the front door of her apartment. The idea of using her demonic powers did not even occur to her. Ever since she had gotten sick, she had seen her youki dwindling, and was not sure she would be able to put together a strong enough demonic wave to get rid of _both_ of the two strong human males. Ruling out the possibility of escape the old woman simply swore to herself to do whatever they asked as she could see it would be the only way to ensure her daughter's safety.

'_Oh Mayumi, I don't know what you did, but please stay safe.' _The older demoness prayed silently.

* * *

Hakudoushi Fujibayashi knew he was acting selfishly towards his newly found sister. As much as he wanted to get to know his half sibling, and be a loving and supportive younger brother, with a tendency to be snarky, as he usually was with Byakuya, he felt blocked. He hated the fact that he had only been told about Kagura's existence less than a day ago while Byakuya had been told of the situation early on. His brother had even been able to meet the wind sorceress.

As much as he tried to refrain himself, Hakudoushi also hated the fact that his mother had changed his game room into a bedroom for Kagura.

'_What if I decided to move back home…' _He pouted. Despite the fact that his mother had put his pool table, wide screen television and all of his video games in one of the smaller guestrooms downstairs, he still hated the fact that he had been ousted from his lair.

Sakura had urged him to spend some time with Kagura, but unlike Byakuya, he had failed to do so. He had taken refuge in his new game room, preferring the comfort of his video games over his unknown sister.

"Say lil' brother when will you quit sulking like a baby?" Hakudoushi groaned when his brother dared trespass in his private playing space.

"I didn't invite you in." The younger sibling spat as he paused his video game, and turned around to face his brother. Byakuya was leaning against the pool table while rolling a small red ball in his hand. His usual cocky grin was on his red lips.

"Is that anyway to thank your dear big brother? I did drive all the way to your campus to pick you up. Besides now that you're living in the dorms, this isn't your house anymore. You're a guest here, just like me… and just like Kagura." Byakuya's perceptive crimson eyes did not miss the fact that his brother frowned when he mentioned the name of their half-sister.

"What the hell are you talking about? This will _always_ be my home."

"Ah and we get to the bottom of the issue." Byakuya threw the ball back on the table then moved towards his scowling younger brother. He sat next to him on the leather couch then resumed speaking. "You know shorty…"

"Don't call me that you jerk." Hakudoushi cut him. Ever since they had been children, the much taller Byakuya had made fun of his younger sibling because of his diminutive height.

"Just kidding, sorry, sorry." The dark haired demon chuckled; he just loved getting under his brother's skin. "Just because we have a new sister our parents aren't gonna love us any less."

"Please spare me your psychological bullshit. I'm not one of your stupid clients to who you're trying to sell a damn house." Hakudoushi averted his lavender eyes from his brother to his wide TV. He turned it on, and picked up the control stick he had discarded earlier.

"At the time Kagura was conceived, mother was a prostitute and a drug addict." Byakuya's sudden admission caused Hakudoushi to not only pause his game, but also turn off his television. "Dad rescued her from her past life, and they fell in love. Unfortunately Naraku took Kagura away, and mom was only recently able to get her back."

"You're lying…" Even as he spoke the words, the young college student knew his brother was telling the truth.

"The man who took Kanna away is named Naraku, he is the one who got mom into the business in the first place. He raised Kagura then forced her to prostitute herself as well. She was rescued by her fiancé."

"That bastard of Naraku! Where is he? We need to destroy him, and get our niece back." Suddenly feeling the fire of resolve burning through him, the youth jumped to his feet. "Who knows what that asshole might do to Kanna?"

"Hold it! Shut your potty mouth for one sec', and listen to what I have to say. Besides none of us have any idea where that damned spider is hiding." Byakuya tugged him back down on the couch, and despite his reluctance, Hakudoushi did as told. "Naraku is a dangerous bastard, and everything is done to track him down."

"So we're just supposed to stay home while he can harm her?

"Why are you so protective of Kanna? Did mom show you a picture of her, and you realized she's as pale and translucent as you are?" As soon as the words left the older demon's lips, his brother sent him a punch. Ever since they had been kids, they had engaged in mock fights, so Byakuya easily stopped the incoming onslaught.

As they wrestled on the couch, they heard the loud ring of the doorbell. At first they ignored it, but as the noise kept going on and on, they had no choice but to give up their little wrestling match.

"Why is there never anyone to answer the door? I have told mother and father so many times that they should invest in a butler."

"Oh Haku stop being a little whiner; being a snob is bad enough. Mom and dad are out, and I doubt our guests will want to get the door, so we should go get it." Byakuya stood up, and put his clothes to right before walking towards the front door, his younger brother trailing behind him.

The two brothers reached the door quickly, and once opening it were surprised by the sight that greeted them. Two young human men were standing on their front step.

"Hello hello." The eager male voice of one of the two newcomers started, then upon seeing Byakuya, he added "Now what a pleasant surprise!"

"Oh you're that guy from the center, Kagura's boss." Byakuya recognized the pretty man smiling broadly at him.

Bankotsu, not liking one bit the way his dear Jakotsu was looking at Kagura's brother, decided to intervene. "We have some important information, and need to speak to Kagura immediately."

"How the hell do you know she is here?" Hakudoushi, ever suspicious of strangers, barked.

"I know the address of this place because Kagura once asked me to drop off Kanna for one of her sessions with Sakura when one of her classes ran late. Since she wasn't at Sesshoumaru's penthouse, we figured she might be here. What did you think we put a GPS tracker on her clothes or something?" Jakotsu chuckled. "Now kiddo, as cute as you are, I didn't come here to look at you. I need to see Kagura right now."

"You have the audacity to barge into our home, and ask to see my sister? What do you want from her?" The youngest of the four asked a scowl on his pale face. Even though Bankotsu was shorter than his companion, Hakudoushi was still more than a foot full shorter than him, which annoyed the pale skinned demon. "Anyways what makes you think we will let you see our sister, you didn't not even introduce yourself, which is a serious lack of manners."

"We know where Kanna is."

That simple sentence uttered in a groan by Bankotsu was enough to do something amazing: shut Hakudoushi Fujibayashi's mouth.

* * *

"Where?" Sesshoumaru asked the two young humans looking out of place while seating on one of the plush seats in the large formal living room of the massive Fujibayashi mansion. He had never liked any of Kagura's employers, and the fact that they had been the ones to locate his daughter, something he had been unable to do, annoyed him more than anything. As much as he knew he should be glad to know that soon his child would be in her mother's arms, he could not help but be jealous.

"Aw aren't you even burning with curiosity wanting to find out how we managed to get the info?" Jakotsu asked coyly. His question caused Sesshoumaru to send him a sharp glare.

"Jakotsu I would advise you not to test their patience." The young human's boyfriend reprimanded him. Bankotsu was not afraid of Sesshoumaru, who was standing across from them, hoping to intimidate the two humans by hovering over them, but decided that if he could prevent a fight from happening he would. The fact that Kagura was visibly upset also impacted his decision to be a peace keeper.

"Jakotsu if you have any idea where my baby is, you would do well to tell me now, or I can assure you that Sesshoumaru won't be the one you should be afraid of." Kagura leveled her friend and employer with a hard chilly glare of her own.

After her brothers had admitted Bankotsu and Jakotsu in the house, everyone had quickly gathered in the living room. With one phone call, Inuyasha was able to do what Kagura had failed to do all day: get Sesshoumaru home. The dog demon had rushed back to the Fujibayashi mansion the second he had been apprised of the situation. Soon enough Kouga, Sango and Miroku, and to Kagura's surprise Touran, had come back as well to hear what Kagura's employers had to say. The other occupants of the luxurious large living room were Morio, Inuyasha and his fiancée Kagome. The only person missing was Sakura, who had volunteered to look after Rin while the 'grown-ups' had a talk.

"We'll talk. The only thing that we want is to be a part of the rescue operation. You know how much Kanna means to us, and it would really please us to help you get her back." The wind sorceress's friend informed her.

"Deal, now Jakotsu you better talk." Instead of Kagura, or even Sesshoumaru it was Kouga who spoke. The wolf demon had had a crappy day trampling around the seediest parts of town following the list of places and people to check out Sesshoumaru had given him. He could not help but wonder where exactly his friend had gotten the names, which was an information the dog demon had refused to volunteer.

"We are in contact with Naraku's accomplice, the young woman who has taken Kanna away from the day care. Her name is Mayumi, and she will call us later on to let us know where they will be spending the night." Jakotsu responded a sheepish expression on his face.

"I thought you _knew _where Kanna was?" Inuyasha frowned. If Jakotsu and Bankotsu got his brother and future sister in-law's hopes up for nothing, he would make sure to make them pay.

"Naraku has them change places every few hours. She told us they would be spending the night in a particular spot though." Bankotsu supplied. "You have no need to worry, Mayumi will come through… let's just say we have not really left her with any other choice."

The cruel smile dancing on his lips caused a shiver of unease to run down Kagome's spine. She did not know the young human, but something told her that he was not only to be messed with.

"Did she tell you if Kanna is unharmed?" Kagura asked. She still remembered the state of the bedroom they had found in the Kurobara, and how worried she was for her daughter's safety.

"Yes she's fine. You'll get her back soon enough." Jakotsu tried reassuring his friend.

"When is this Mayumi expected to call you?" Sesshoumaru asked. As much as he was annoyed with the two young humans, there was nothing he wanted more than getting his daughter back. He therefore decided to push back his annoyance with them in favor of retrieving his child.

"Soon I guess. She said she would call the second Naraku would leave them as he usually does after bringing them to a new place." Bankotsu shrugged. He made himself more comfortable in the plush couch, and placed an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders as he decided to ignore the glares everyone in the room was sending in their direction.

"So while we wait for that phone call, I propose we all get better acquainted." Jakotsu exclaimed gleefully. Before even Bankotsu had a chance to stop him, the young human sauntered over to the couch Kagome and her fiancé were sharing. He leaned towards the hanyou, and quickly took hold of one of his furry ears.

"These are so adorable!" Jakotsu cooed as he rubbed the furry silver appendage.

Inuyasha may have been too stunned to realize, but Kagome was not. She was not about to let anyone other than her enjoy any bodily part of her husband to be without her protesting. The fact that her pregnancy hormones had been making her more belligerent than ever of course affected her decision.

"Back off." She slapped Jakotsu's hand away, a scowl present on her face.

"Tst tst fiery! Just my kind of woman." The human grinned towards the young pregnant woman. This time it was Inuyasha's turn to growl. It was bad enough that he had had to suffer Kouga's presence lately, but some unknown human daring talk about his Kagome was more than he could bear.

"Leave them alone Jak. Damn I can't take you anywhere anymore!" Hearing Bankotsu's reprimand, his boyfriend did as told, and sat back on the couch he had just vacated.

"You never let me have any fun anymore." Jakotsu pouted even if he did allow his lover to envelop his shoulders with his arm. Unlike Jakotsu who earlier had perform the same action as a public display of affection, Bankotsu was doing it to make sure his boyfriend would stay in place, even if he had to physically restrain him.

"Please spare us the couple's therapy…" Hakudoushi snorted. His comment caused his brother to chuckle slightly.

"Hakudoushi! Remember your manners; they are guests in our house." His father, Morio scolded him even as he sent a chilly glare towards his oldest son. Byakuya responded by shrugging his shoulders.

Sesshoumaru gently massaged his temple with two slender fingers, wishing his migraine away. He was quickly getting annoyed with the occupants of the room, and even if he hated the idea of it, could use some sleep. He had not gotten any rest ever since Kanna had been kidnapped, and if they were to go through another rescue mission that evening, he sure could use some sleep. The last thing he wanted was not to operate at his highest potential; retrieving his daughter was the most important thing to him at the moment, and something told him that they would not be getting many more opportunities to rescue her. The fact that Naraku had not requested for a ransom led the dog demon to believe that the spider hanyou might be planning to do with Kanna the same thing he had done with Kagura: take her away and raise her while dangling morsels of information about her in front of her parents in exchange of money.

_'However if that wretched spider was to do that, I would never give up until I secured Kanna.' _Sesshoumaru thought to himself, inwardly shaking with rage. He looked away from his clenched fists to look at his fiancée. As she had done so ever since he had come back to the Fujibayashi mansion, Kagura was silently looking at him. The second he had stepped inside the house, he had felt her crimson gaze on him, but to his shock she had not even tried to talk to him.

_'This is just as well. I do not wish to talk to her.' _He thought to himself. He could still see how much pain and worry were gnawing at Kagura, and did not want to have to deal with her feelings. _'All I have to do is get Kanna back, and make sure Kagura comes to no harm; it will be the only way to atone for my shortcomings.'_

He gently patted his pocket where what he had picked up earlier from Suikotsu's office was located. He had planned to use it in case he would need to neutralize Kagura. After all, the last thing he wanted was to have to divert his attention from the search for Kanna to her young mother. In fact when they had barged into the Kurobara, the inu youkai knew that he had only been able to give his full attention to his quest only after Kagura had left the premises.

_'Such a thing will not be permitted to happen tonight.' _He thought to himself as he looked away from Kagura's deep crimson eyes, which appeared to be silently asking him for something.

He could not stand to have her looking at him like that. The dog demon was about to excuse himself from everyone in order to take a short respite, but before he could do so, the sound of a ringtone resonated throughout the room.

He noticed that instead of looking at Jakotsu's hand where the young human was brandishing a ringing cell phone, Kagura was still looking at him, hope and fear in her eyes. He refused to respond to her gaze, and decided to address Jakotsu.

"Answer the phone."

* * *

As soon as Naraku left her and Kanna in their new location, Mayumi picked up her phone. She was usually more cautions, and knew she should be more careful, and wait a little bit before calling the men who were threatening her mother, but decided not to. Nothing was more important to her than keeping her mother safe.

Usually when Naraku drove them to a new location as he did every few hours, Mayumi blanked out during the car ride; however, this time around she paid great attention to the route they had taken as the last thing she wanted to not be able to let Bankotsu and Jakotsu know where Naraku had taken them.

Mayumi carefully dialed the number of the two men who had threatened her mother, and waited for them to answer.

"Hello Mayumi. You better have some good information for me." Jakotsu said in a sing-song voice, which caused a shiver of fright to go down the young woman's spine.

"What have you done to my mother? I tried calling her, but she isn't answering her phone."

"Give me the info I asked, and I can assure you your mother will be just fine." Of course Jakotsu was not about to tell Mayumi that her mother was safely tied down in the basement of their young mother center. She would remain unharmed as long as her daughter did as told.

"Okay…" She took a deep breath, and gathered her strength before speaking. "Naraku has an… acquaintance who owns a shipping company named Magokoro…"

"Sincerity? Pfft! How fitting." Jakotsu scoffed, interrupting her.

"Yes… well we will be spending the night in one of his warehouses near the train station. I saw the number 33 printed on the side of the one we walked into."

"Is that the number of the warehouse?" Jakotsu asked for clarification purposes. The young human knew exactly where the warehouses were located as before he, Bankotsu and the other members of the Shichinintai had retired from their life of crime, the warehouses in that part of town were one of the places they would use to regroup their various merchandises before shipping them.

"Yes I believe so… I have done as you ask, so please let my mother go. She is old and sick and needs to take her medicine." She was sure that the two men had taken her as the older demoness had not answered to her daughter's many phone calls.

"Don't worry, we'll respect our end of the bargain. Your dear old mom will be just fine. Besides we'll get to meet really soon. Remember Mayumi-chan, not a word of this to the old spider." With these last words of caution, Jakotsu hung up the phone. Even though he had spoken on a light voice, she could not mistake his parting words for anything other than a threat.

Mayumi had barely put her cell phone inside her pocket that to her surprise the rusty gate of the warehouse was slid opened. None other than Naraku walked towards them, and unpleased expression on his face.

"What are you doing looking at me like that? Were you having silly notions about running away?" Naraku smiled cruelly as his eyes rested on his 'employee'. The young woman lowered her gaze in a respectful way.

"Oh you wish not to answer?" Naraku grinned as he walked past this shivering young woman. She was so grateful that he had not caught her while she was on the phone, but something told her that she was not safe just yet. As if hearing her thoughts, Naraku walked over to the lumpy couch where Kanna was seated, her deep dark gaze staring out towards the darkening sky.

"Kanna-chan I am sure _you _will be honest with Grandpa. Did that stupid woman do something I would not like?" He asked on a syrupy sweet voice. He leaned towards her small frame. His cold hand rose to gently smooth Kanna's white hair back. The young child did her best not to flinch; it would not do to let the evil half demon know how much she hated his touch.

Mayumi's face suddenly went white. While she had informed Jakotsu of their location, she had not for one minute thought that Kanna may betray her plan. She silently hoped that the little girl would not breathe a word to Naraku as the consequences would be disastrous.

"No." The child just answered, not even bothering to look at her 'grandfather'. She was not entirely sure who Mayumi had been talking on the phone with for the second time that day, but Kanna would rather side with the young demoness than with Naraku. Even if she was working with Naraku, and had taken her away from the day care, something told Kanna that Mayumi could be trusted… at least more than the spider hanyou could.

"Good. It seems that yesterday's beating was useful after all." Naraku grinned evilly, blood red orbs glancing at a faint bruise still adorning Mayumi's cheek. "As I used to tell my daughter all the time, nothing is better than a little bit of discipline." The hanyou placed the plastic bag he had been carrying on a large wooden crate placed in front of the old beaten couch as a makeshift coffee table. He then sat next to Kanna, who still refused to pay him any attention.

It was only when he fished inside the bag to retrieve a sandwich for himself that Mayumi allowed herself to take a relieved deep breath. She did jump when he turned his attention away from his dinner and towards her.

"If you do not eat and gather your strength do not expect me to carry you tomorrow during our little trip." He then grinned before adding. "You know me well enough to know that I would rather leave you behind than be slowed down by you."

"I am sorry Master. I will do as you wish." The young demoness wasted no time picking up a sandwich for Kanna. She was relieved to see that the child took the food and started nibbling on it. Mayumi could not help but wonder if Kanna's sudden cooperative mood was due to the tensions clear in the room. The young woman then fed herself as well. She only wished that the hanyou would not notice her shaking hand, and that if he did he would think it was due to his presence, and would not suspect her betrayal.

_'I hope these men will keep their promise of keeping mom safe… and if they can also save that poor little girl as well… it wouldn't be too bad.'_ Mayumi thought to herself as her eyes rested on the little girl. Just as she did Kanna looked up at her with her deep dark eyes. _'Yeah I do hope they can bring that poor child back to her mother.'_

* * *

"I know what you're going to say, and it's no use. Whether you like it or not, I am coming." Kagura stated as she walked inside the library, which she thought to herself was quickly becoming the only room in which they were interacting. The second their meeting had been over, her fiancé had gone there in order to think. It was the first time the wind sorceress had talked to him that day as he had done his best to ignore her, but she was not about to let herself be intimidated or deviated from her goal.

"You do not know this Sesshoumaru as well as you would believe." He retorted dryly. "I am aware that you are worried for our daughter." He said, not even reacting to the anger present in her voice. He was calm, a little too calm even in her opinion. She felt that she should be suspicious, but decided against it; unlike the man who had raised her, Sesshoumaru was a man of integrity, and not a sly coward who would assure her of one thing, and do another as Naraku tended to.

"So you're _not_ going to forbid me to come?" Kagura asked truly surprised; she had expected to have to plead her case; especially after the debacle of the Kurobara. "Not that I would have listened to you." She quickly added.

"I am aware of that." A brief enigmatic smile graced his lips. "Here, let's have a celebratory drink before leaving." He said even as he handed her a snifter filled with brandy. She saw that he held another one for him.

_'Never imagined I would see the day that arrogant man would readily let me do as I please.' _She smiled to herself before speaking aloud. "Are you sure drinking would be wise?"

"I do not know about you wind witch, but I could use a drink to settle my nerves." Once he finished speaking, he gulped down the burning alcohol quickly.

Pacified and impressed that he had actually readily admitted his shortcomings and anxiety, which was unusual, she did as told. With a shrug, Kagura took the offered glass from his hand, and mirroring his action drained the snifter as well in one gulp. She instantaneously felt a warmth course through her, which she had to admit was not all that unpleasant.

"So we need to work the logistics. That wolf friend of yours was just bossing everyone around the second you left the room." Kagura informed her fiancé as she rolled her eyes in annoyance. She did not know why, but there was just something about Kouga she could not stand. Just as she finished speaking, she suddenly felt a surprising pressure appear in her head, she decided to ignore it, and did her best to focus on Sesshoumaru.

"Kouga knows what he is doing." Sesshoumaru retorted as he closed the bottle he had served them from then placed his snifter on a nearby table. He then quickly turned around, looking intently at his fiancée. Kagura was about to retort something snarky, but could not find the words. Her mouth felt dry, her tongue tied, and the pressure in her head had now changed into an uncanny numbness.

"Sessshhh something doesn't feel right." She slurred her words even as her body suddenly felt heavy. She tried walking towards her lover, but found her legs to be wobbly, and the room to spin around her. Her visions deemed, and the comforting presence of her Sesshoumaru was suddenly looking blurry.

"The sleeping drug has acted faster than I had anticipated." He lightly commented as he took her glass from her hand, and placed it next to his on the side table even as he used his other arm to help support her. He could only hope that he had calculated the dosage right. Ever since Suikotsu prepared the potent drug for him, he had never used it. After all he was too proud to rely on drugs in order to find sleep. He would rather spend the night driving around, or better yet working. The fact that he was exhausted the next day was just an unfortunate thing. It was therefore a very surprised Suikotsu who welcomed him at the clinic when the dog demon had demanded to be given the blend of sleeping herbs.

Despite the fact that he had never tried the herbs mix, he knew that it was strong. After all in order to knock a demon as strong as he was, a descendant of famous taiyoukai, would require a potent drug. As he saw his lover struggle to stay awake, straining against the effects of the drug, Sesshoumaru was amazed that only a few sprinkles of dried herbs in a glass of alcohol had been able to take down the strong demoness in such a little amount of time.

"Sleeping…" She echoed finding her eyelids closing without her command. "You drugged me you basssstard."

Without paying her any attention, Sesshoumaru scooped his fiancée in his arms, and gently laid her on the couch; the same one they had embraced on the night before. She blinked up to look at him with fuzzy eyes, but could not conjure up the words to say what she had wanted to say. Nor to her disappointment could she summon the strength to punch him as she truly wanted.

"Do not fight it, let sleep take over you. When you next wake, I will be home, and Kanna will be aback by your side." He leaned to press a tender kiss on her lips.

The dog demon was surprised when he heard Sakura speak behind him. "She will be mad."

"She will get over it." He responded as he turned to face his would be mother in law. "Where is Rin?" He inquired about his older daughter.

"She is having dinner in the kitchen downstairs. That toad of yours is keeping her company." The void demoness walked towards the couch where her daughter lay slumbering. Her breathing had already evened out, proving that she was already deeply asleep.

Sesshoumaru briefly wondered if he should let Sakura know that Jaken was actually an imp, but decided against it; he had more important things to do than defend his retainer's honor.

"What did you give her?" Sakura asked as she tenderly brushed some of Kagura's bangs out of her closed eyes. She was aware that Sesshoumaru loved her daughter too much to cause her any harm, but was still a little worried at how quickly Kagura had fallen asleep.

"I sprinkled some sleeping herbs in her drink. You have no need to worry. My doctor assured me it would do the job without causing any pain or undesirable side effects." He replied even as he turned around not wanting to face his beloved.

"If she wakes before I have returned, tell her I will be back soon enough." Without leaving Sakura with any polite parting words, he headed for the door. His steps briefly faltered as the same feeling of foreboding which had manifested itself in him several times in the past few weeks came back even stronger than before.

_'Since when is this Sesshoumaru superstitious?' _He asked himself, utterly disgusted by his own behavior. He then walked away from the library to regroup with the rescue party.

Little did he know that his plan would fail, and that he should have paid his instincts a little more attention as he would not be coming back to his beloved wind sorceress that evening.

* * *

Naraku looked down at the many shiny objects he was rolling in between his fingers. He had run around town for the better part of the day searching for this.

_'Now all I have to do is let that stupid dog come to me.' _He thought to himself. The spider hanyou was not stupid; he knew that Sesshoumaru would be coming after him, and soon. After all many of his friends had let him know that a bunch of people had paid them a visit, asking about his whereabouts. Naraku was just glad that he had not trusted anyone enough to let them know where he was hiding. He had called in favors from different 'friends' ensuring that he had several possible hiding places. This allowed him to move around without having to fear getting caught. After all none of his 'so called friends' knew exactly where he was at the moment, and he paid attention to move every few hours.

_'Even if Kagura's dog was to find me, with this I will be just fine.' _He grinned as he brought the small bullet closer to his eyes. Acquiring it had caused him quite a bit of money, and had required for him to coerce a monk, but he knew it was all worth it. After all how else was he to obtain an enchanted bullet strong enough to cause _permanent_ damage to a powerful demon?

Naraku took his handful of bullets, and loaded his gun with them. He may not have had the means to buy a lot of them, but he knew what he had would be more than enough to hurt Sesshoumaru _badly. _

Satisfied with his work, Naraku then headed towards the main room where he had left Mayumi and Kanna. He was glad that the warehouse where they were presently hiding allowed him some privacy. He was sure that his young female accomplice would not have appreciated seeing him with a gun. He was certain that Mayumi would jump out of her skin if she saw that he was armed. He had noticed the young demoness was acting suspiciously enough already. He was pretty sure that she wanted to do something to get herself out of his crutches, but feared retributions. He had been informed by one of his henchmen that two men had taken Mayumi's mother away, and the hanyou was pretty sure that Mayumi had something to do with it.

_'Too bad the idiot did not even think about following them to find out where the men took the bitch's mother.' _Even though this was an unforeseen event, Naraku decided not to think let it upset him. _'After all I was planning on getting rid of both that useless Mayumi and her mother very soon. That useless bitch of Mayumi is not only of no use to me anymore, but does not posses any sexual appeal anymore…' _

An evil smirk still dancing on his lips, the dark hanyou safely tucked his gun in the belt of his pants, and joined Kanna and Mayumi. The two females were looking tensed and pale, albeit for different reasons. The older feared Naraku would uncover her betrayal, and Kanna was afraid her parents would not come find her as she had hoped.

"Why are you guys looking so down? Why don't you give me a little smile?" Mayumi wasted no time following his order, and forced herself to smile, which ended up looking more like a grimace than a smile, but was enough to appease Naraku. On the other hand, Kanna did not even bother; she knew Naraku well enough to know that whether she did as he wanted or not would probably not affect the probability of him hitting her. If he wanted to hurt her, she knew he would.

Deciding to ignore the two females, Naraku made his way over to the couch. He sat down heavily next to Kanna, and closed his eyes, trying to get some rest.

"Just stay quiet and let me sleep. Oh and Mayumi don't you even think about trying to escape… I will know." The spider hanyou opened one crimson eye and rested it on Mayumi who was standing against the wall furthest from the couch, hugging her arms to herself.

"I will not master Naraku." She said even as she thought to herself. _'I hope these two men will do as they promised.' _

**To be continued…**

A/N: Mayumi betrayed Naraku and Kagura will probably rip out Sesshoumaru's eyes if she got the opportunity. In the next one Sesshy finally gets his daughter back… but at what price? We shall see next time. The chapter will be named **Bargaining**. I rushed getting this chapter to you, so if there are any mistakes/typos please tell me. Thanks guys and see you at the next update :)


	81. Release

_**Chapter 81: Release**_

A/N: Hello dear readers, here's the next update. Once again I changed the title of the chapter, this just feels more fitting. Now onto more serious stuff. I know I've been saying that the end of the story is coming close, but it's taking me much longer to put together everything I have been planning for the past three years (Yes SD has been around for a long time!). I so do not want to disappoint all of you, so I will take things slowly to make sure everything makes sense.

I do understand if some of you are getting tired and annoyed with the way the story is unfolding. But bear with me for now as things will be moving along faster after this chapter. The events that will be occurring starting from now are the reason I actually started writing this fic. The story was in fact built backwards, so even if it may seem like things are going in all crazy directions, I do have a plan, and Special Delivery will indeed end (at some point).

Thank you so much for the reviews, and not being too mad at the underhanded way Sesshoumaru handled Kagura :p

**Sesshkagufan13**

**Anana553 **(Thanks for the kind words and the encouragement. I will follow your advice and try to update more regularly and sooner :P)

**BlackBurningHeart (Congrats for leaving the *gasp* 900****th**** review!)**

**Little25Victor **(Ah ha something tells me you are right. :P)

**Halloween265 **(Glad to see you're reading the story again! Thank you. The key part of your question is 'if' Kagura will get the chance lol)

**Roguereader **(Something tells me Kagura will not be as understanding as you lol. Mayumi's fate will soon be revealed. Will it be all good? We shall see.)

**Kagura's number one fan **(And it's far from over. Nice to hear from you again, it's been a long time!)

**Sigh **(I am sorry to hear you're disappointed, but I would have liked for you to explain more to me why it is so. The way I have built the story would not have allowed for it to end at an earlier point. Even though you are disappointed, I hope you will still give the fic, and its ending a chance. Thanks for reading.)

**90sgurl **(Long time no see! I'm glad you liked it.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

Sesshoumaru's golden gaze rested on the bold large white '33' painted in block letters on the rusty gate he and members of his rescue team were standing in front of.

_'This is it. This is where that damn spider has been keeping Kanna.' _He thought, clenching his fist in anger.

"Keh! Are we going in to get your kid back, or do you intend to wait until the sun comes up?" Inuyasha snorted. His own golden eyes had not left his brother ever since they had left the Fujibayashi mansion; especially while they had been driving through the dark night streets. It certainly in his opinion was a better alternative to watching Kouga lovingly check over his adored gun, which he had named the Goraishi. Based on its massive size, something told the half demon that the firearm did not comply with the regulations of the police force, but stayed his tongue; the last thing he wanted was to get in another argument with Kouga.

Inuyasha had noticed that during the whole drive Sesshoumaru had an unusual angry scowl on his face, which the inu hanyou was pretty sure was due to what he had done to his fiancée. No one other than the inu hanyou could understand better the need to protect his woman, but he was sure that he would have never resorted to drugging Kagome in order to prevent her from following him.

_'Even if it's for the witch's safety, something tells me that Kagura's going to be mad as hell the second she gets her hands on Sessh. Maybe having Kanna back will make things easier… Now if only all these idiots could just agree so we can get the kid back already!' _A truly annoyed Inuyasha thought to himself as he stared up at the bright full moon, which was the only light shining on the group.

During the time he spent thinking about his brother, Kouga and Jakotsu were engaging in a battle of wills, trying to come up with the best plan of action, Sango and Miroku were trying to prevent them from fighting while at the same time assuring that they would not make a lot of noise lest Naraku notice the group of people standing outside of his hideout. When it came to Bankotsu, he was just looking over the group, an amused grin on his face.

"I am going in." The dog demon stepped forward, and placed his clawed hand on the handle of the large discolored gate.

"Ah finally some action." An overeager Jakotsu exclaimed. Had it not been for Bankotsu who had asked him to wait for a signal from the dog demon, and Kouga who had disagreed with every single one of his suggestions, the young flamboyant human would have already barged into the warehouse the second they had found it.

"Wow! Wait, you can't do that. We need to follow a plan!" Kouga rushed towards the dog demon, but was too late; Sesshoumaru had already yanked the heavy gate opened, and had stepped inside, Jakotsu, Bankotsu and Inuyasha following closely behind him. Sango and Miroku did as all of them. Even the young woman's firecat demon faithfully followed after them, ready to help and protect her mistress any way she could.

"So much for the element of surprise." Even if the wolf demon grumbled, he wasted no time following after Sesshoumaru's quickly disappearing form.

* * *

Asuka pulled the plush white terrycloth bathrobe tighter around her tall thin frame as her golden eyes stared down at the slowly draining bathtub she had left just a few seconds ago. She walked out of the luxurious bathroom of the hotel suite she had been living in for the past few weeks, and stepped towards the lavish living room attached to her bedroom. She sighed as she sunk into one of the comfortable gold and red armchairs adorning the room. A frown marred her crescent adorned forehead when among her mail she saw something unusual. The concierge had brought her correspondence earlier when she had been about to immerse herself in a relaxing bubbled bath, she had therefore not paid great attention to the pile of magazines and envelopes. Among the stack of mail, one envelope was catching her attention now; it was white, and was decorated with the hotel's stamp. She wasted no time opening it, and the frown between her brows deepened.

"Pesky incompetent fools. How dare they ask me to pay? I have been staying here for only a few weeks…" She forced herself to relax her face as the last thing she wanted was to get more wrinkles. "No need to get upset over this. I'll just have to send the bill to Sesshoumaru's retainer." She muttered to herself as she threw the white envelop away on one of the carved wooden side table. "I didn't want my dear son to know I was still in town, but it's alright, he was probably going to find out soon enough anyways."

Thinking about her only child caused a shiver to run down her spine, and it was not because her long silver hair was still damp from her bath. Despite how strained her relationship with Sesshoumaru was, it was because of him that she had rejected her ex boyfriend, the wealthy baron when he had asked her to resume their relationship and come back to his side. Of course if one was to ask, Asuka would have said she just wanted to make the older German man beg for her return. In reality the dog demoness was worried about her son, and especially his relationship with Kagura. She could not exactly say why, but Asuka just knew the young former prostitute would cause more issues to her son than the embarrassment he had had to suffer during the memorial ceremony and dinner held in his father's memory.

_'I am sure this woman will be his downfall, and what kind of mother would I be if I did not watch out for my dear son.' _She thought to herself as she picked up a magazine, and made herself more comfortable in the plush seat. _'I just have to wait until the opportunity presents itself, and I will get him rid of her negative influence.' _

* * *

Upon entering Naraku's hiding place, Sesshoumaru realized that several of his assumptions were clearly wrong. In fact he had expected for the warehouse to be plunged in darkness, but its inside was bathed in light coming from large lamps hanging from the beams that were supporting the heavy roof. Another source of light was long strings of light bulbs looped around the heavy pillars on which the weight of the structure was resting. He could not help but note that they looked like grim Christmas lights.

Sesshoumaru had expected to see his daughter's small body huddled in a corner of the warehouse, gagged, her limbs bound together with the hanyou threatening her one way or another. And when it came to Naraku, he had thought that the hanyou would be in plain sight as soon as he opened the gate… but this was not the case. To his disappointment neither his daughter nor Naraku were visible.

"What is the meaning of this?" He growled, his eyes taking in the empty warehouse. It was a fairly large space made up of walls painted in grey, which had seen better days and were now tainted with a brownish color. The only pieces of furniture present in the room were a large lumpy old couch and the other a wooden crate placed in front of the seat as a makeshift table. Against the furthest wall was a pile of crates and boxes. Even though this part of the warehouse was not as lightened as the others, they could all see that the pile was so great that it occupied the entire length of the wall, and almost reached the massive metal beams supporting the aluminum roof of the warehouse.

"He must be here. Mayumi didn't say anything about them moving…" Jakotsu was extremely disappointed. He had been so sure that they would be finding Kanna here.

"See that's why we need plans. Next time listen to me, okay. I _am _a lieutenant after all." Kouga grumbled even if no one paid him any attention.

"My my, what a surprise, I really had not expected so many of you to come join our little party." An irritatingly sweet voice resonated around the group of rescuers. They each started looking around, wondering where the exact location of the hanyou was.

"Naraku!" Sesshoumaru could not help but bark out; the idea of finally have the crafty half demon close enough caused him to momentarily put aside his usual unfeeling veneer. However he quickly put it back up; it would not do for Naraku to know how much he had managed to affect him after all.

Following his senses made it easy for him to locate the position of Naraku. The hanyou was looking down at them from a platform leading to what seemed to be a smaller second story. Sesshoumaru cursed the fact that he had not beforehand noticed the hidden set of stairs leading to an upper level which was located behind them. He was willing to bet that it was the only access up and down the second level of the warehouse, which he was sure was where Kanna was being kept.

_'Naraku will then surely do everything to secure the staircase so as to be able to weasel himself away from me. Unfortunately for him, I have no intention to let him get past me _again_.' _The dog demon thought to himself even as he started walking towards the stairs.

"They do say the more the merrier, so allow me to make a quick phone call." The words had barely left Naraku's lips that he reached for his cell phone. He wasted no time making use of the speed dial. "Come and get me rid of them as per our agreement."

Sensing that a fight was sure to ensure soon enough, Inuyasha loudly cracked his knuckles, Sango unstrapped her trusted hiraikotsu from her back, and Kirara following her cue changed into her grown form and let out a fearsome roar. Kouga slipped his Goraishi out of its holster, and Jakotsu and Bankotsu echoed his action and too took out their firearms. Miroku who had always been more apt with his fists than a gun, picked up a metal pole that had been lying around. It would do well enough as a weapon for him.

Sesshoumaru however stayed as stoic as ever; his eyes were trained on the hanyou as he reached the first step of the stairs. To his shock a group of armed men dressed in all black suddenly stormed inside the warehouse, using a side door which had been hidden by the pile of wooden crates and cardboard boxes placed against the furthest wall.

He briefly hesitated. On the one hand he could not wait to be reunited with his daughter, and to punish Naraku for all the pain he had caused his family, but on the other hand he was not sure his associates would be able to handle the group of armed men Naraku had hired. As if sensing his brother's dilemma, Inuyasha briefly looked away from the growing number of men dressed in all black and armed to the teeth, and addressed the dog demon.

"Keh! What the hell are you waiting for? Go get your kid while we take care of these henchmen."

Silently nodding his thanks, Sesshoumaru did as told and took the stairs two at a time. As he reached the platform nestled under the ceiling, a voice reached him, a voice which grated on his nerves.

"What a surprise. You are quite a heartless man and a true coward my dear son in-law; letting your friends fight your battles…" Naraku chuckled as he spied Sesshoumaru walking towards him. The hanyou hated the fact that his enemy had not taken the time to help out his friends, which would have in turn enabled the half demon to run away unnoticed as he had planned.

As he reflected on his failed plan, Naraku's usual taunting grin disappeared, but was soon to come back when he thought about one bright point in his plan. _'At least the men I hired have not failed me… I had a feeling Sesshoumaru would be coming tonight, and had them waiting in standby. Once again my instincts did not fail me.'_

Even if Sesshoumaru did not remove his gaze from the dark half demon as he listened to Naraku's jab he could not help but feel a twinge of worry. His brother who he considered to be a reckless idiot was about to have a second child and get married, and the last thing he wanted was to have to tell Kagome that her fiancé had died while on his watch. He was not either too keen on the idea of telling Ayame that the father of her young child had also been harmed while working for him. He of course also felt responsible for Miroku and Sango, and did not want to see anything happen to the young human couple. When it came to Bankotsu and Jakotsu, he might not like them, but Kagura did, a lot. And in addition they had been the one to locate his daughter, so he did owe them a major debt. Sesshoumaru shook his head, and pushed down his worry. He continued toward the half demon, staying focused on his goal; they had not gotten so far, and sacrificed so much for him to give up now. Not to mention the fact that he wanted to make sure his daughter was fine.

The repetitive sound of a loud machinegun resonating from downstairs was enough to drag the dog demon out of his thoughts; he knew that none of his collaborators had been using such a deadly weapon, and therefore was certain one of Naraku's men had been the one behind the attack. He could only hope that it had left all of his 'friends' unharmed.

"Oh let us just hope these bullets did not go through your brother's brain." The grin that appeared on Naraku's face caused Sesshoumaru to glare at him.

_'I will not let that bastard get under my skin.' _The inu youkai vowed to himself. "Where is my daughter?"

"I am afraid I do not know what you are talking about…" Naraku started but just as Sesshoumaru was about to call him on his obvious lie, a side door located between them was thrown opened. The inu youkai was enraged that he had not even noticed it beforehand. Something told Sesshoumaru this had been Naraku's emergency escape route, and that if he had not hurried over, the spider half demon would have slipped through his fingers while he and his companions fought off the men the hanyou had hired. The thought of it angered him; however, some relief was soon to come for him. The person who soon appeared was none other than Mayumi who was cradling a scared Kanna in her arms. The little girl had screwed her eyes shut, and was holding her hands over her ears, hoping to tune out the loud fighting noises and screams coming from downstairs.

"He's lying, she is here." As soon as Sesshoumaru looked at the young pale haired demoness who had just spoken, he knew exactly who she was. He had no doubt that she was Naraku's accomplice, the one who had taken Kanna from the daycare.

Tentatively Mayumi walked towards the scary and imposing dog demon. She ignored Naraku who was glaring hatefully at her back, which did not surprise her as she opposed his direct order to leave and take Kanna with her.

Sesshoumaru allowed himself a short moment of weakness, and let out a relieved sigh. "Kanna" he called out to his daughter. It was only when Mayumi gently jostled the child that she opened her eyes. Upon seeing her father, Kanna broke down in tears, a very uncommon sight for Sesshoumaru. For as long as he had known the little girl, he had only seen her cry a handful of times. He wanted to reach out and take her in his arms to not only assure himself that she was doing alright, but also to comfort her. However he did not dare as Naraku was still there, still representing a threat. He weighed his options, and knew that the only way for him to ensure his daughter's safety would be to trust the woman who had taken her away from him.

"Take Kanna, and leave this place." He then fished out the keys to his car from his pocket, and threw them towards Mayumi's feet even as his eye stayed trained on Naraku. If the hanyou dared move a muscle, he would kill him. Even if he did not want his daughter to be scarred by the sight of Naraku being reduced to a pile of vile goo because of one of his poison attack, it was a risk he was more than willing to take to ensure that the half demon would not escape him _again_. "There is a black car parked in the front. Lock the two of you in it until I go fetch you." Sesshoumaru instructed the young demoness.

Not wasting any time, Mayumi crouched and picked up the keys, never letting go of the sobbing child. The young demoness then quickly walked towards the dog demon, and the staircase behind him. She knew that the second she walked past him, she would be out of Naraku's range, and therefore safe. All she could do was hope that Sesshoumaru would protect not only his daughter, but her as well. Not sure, she decided to put all the odds on her side.

"I will do as you ask… but only if you promise not to hurt me… and can assure me my mom is alright. I just want to make sure she's okay."

In the few words she spoke, Sesshoumaru understood how Jakotsu and Bankotsu had exactly gotten Mayumi to cooperate. He was also certain it would be another way to make sure she would not betray him either.

_'As annoying as the two men may be, I know they would not hurt an old woman.' _He thought to himself before he spoke up. "She is unharmed, and will be returned to you as soon as the spider is dealt with, and my daughter returned to her mother. When it comes to you, you will be fine as long as you do as you are told, and do not lay a finger on my child."

"I will do anything you ask me to." Mayumi vowed as she clutched Kanna closer to her side. Even if the battle was still raging downstairs, she was sure that she could slip outside, and get Kanna and herself to safety if she used the second staircase, the one hiding behind the door she had entered the room from. As if sensing what she intended to do, Sesshoumaru walked forward positioning himself between the seething hanyou, and the only way for his daughter to be evacuated safely. He was more than willing to be a shield for both his daughter and Mayumi.

Thankful, the young woman quickly made her way over to the side door, ready to make a quick exit; she had seen the dark look present in Naraku's eyes way too many times to know it meant he was about to hurt someone, and she could only hope it would not be her.

As much as she _really_ hated being in Naraku's presence, Kanna did not want to be separated from her father. "Daddy…" She started, but the dog demon did not even spare her a glance.

"Do as you are told Kanna-chan. I will take care of Naraku, and make sure he will never harm you again. Soon you will be home with your mother, and everything will be well." His use of the endearment for the first time was enough to mollify her, and his comforting words ensured her cooperation.

"Ku ku ku, do you really think I would let you slip out of my fingers you ungrateful bitch?" Naraku reached behind for his belt to retrieve the gun he had concealed. He pointed the weapon at the pale and shivering young woman who was just about to slip outside.

"As if this Sesshoumaru would let you." He growled as he stepped right in the path of any bullet Naraku could shoot at the girls.

_'I am a strong demon, and can handle being shot; it will in no way prevent me from getting us rid of Naraku… for good.' _He thought to himself as his golden eyes stayed stuck on the hanyou, and especially his shaking hand which was holding on to the weapon. The slight show of weakness led Sesshoumaru to believe that his enemy would not dare shoot him. _'As crazed as he may be, the hanyou is and has always been a coward. He would therefore never dare shoot a bullet into me. The only thing he is interested in is money, and he will not dare jeopardize any money entry.'_ Sesshoumaru thought to himself.

Unfortunately for him, he was wrong.

"Ku ku ku my dear Sesshoumaru, it is very honorable to see how willing you are to protect Kagura's bastard child and that useless bitch of Mayumi, but really you shouldn't. Didn't your mother tell you, 'if you play with fire, you get burned'." As soon as the words left his mouth the spider half demon pulled the trigger.

The bullet flew out of the barrel of the gun so fast that Sesshoumaru did not even see it. The first thing that ran through his mind then was how shocked he was to see that the dark hanyou had actually dared use his weapon against him. He then smelt the gun powder, and felt the painful burn of the piece of metal as it tore through his skin and flesh. One thing that really registered through him as Naraku shot him was Kanna's anguish filled scream.

* * *

As a deafening sound of a gunshot went off upstairs, and the scent of his older brother's acidic blood became even more pronounced, Inuyasha could not help but let out a loud expletive. He wiped the blood that was dripping in his left eye, courtesy of a well aimed punch to the head from one of Naraku's henchmen. His golden eyes travelled around the room, and he was relieved to see that he and his companions had managed to knock out almost of all the armed men sent by the spider half demon.

"Hey mangy wolf! Do you have things in hand here?" He asked his friend.

"Don't worry Dogshit, we can handle the rest of them." Kouga interrupted himself to block a punch one of Naraku's hired men was trying to deliver to his face. "Go help your brother. Looks like the old bastard could use a hand." He then grunted. He too could distinguish the steadily growing smell of the dog demon's blood, and was worried for him.

Not needing to be told twice, the half dog demon did as suggested, and hurried over to the set of stairs. As he climbed up, he could discern more and more the scent of his brother's blood in the air, and that worried him. As he finally reached the upper level of the warehouse, he could not help but halt. He knew the scene that greeted his eyes would stay etched in his mind forever: an unknown young demoness was holding on to a sobbing Kanna as the two of them stared helplessly at a large pool of Sesshoumaru's sizzling acidic blood quickly spreading on the ground.

* * *

Kagura's eyes snapped opened as soon as her mind was clear of the fog the herbal mix had brought upon. She quickly sat up and was surprised to find herself under the covers of the bed in the bedroom her mother had prepared for her in her mansion. It took a few seconds for her to remember what had happened, and how she had gotten there. One thing she really remembered was how the dog demon had drugged her to make sure that she would not go with them to rescue their daughter.

"That bastard of Sesshoumaru." She growled as she sat up, and jumped out of the bed. She did not know exactly where Naraku was hiding, but she was sure that if she was to call Jakotsu right now, the young human would tell her where they were.

By the time the wind sorceress had made it to the door of her bedroom, it was thrown opened. She only had enough time to take a quick step back to avoid having the wooden door knock her face. To her surprise and relief, Inuyasha stepped inside, cradling none other than Kanna in his arms. Even though the young hanyou had a nasty bleeding bruise on his forehead, and seemed to be slightly limping, there was only one thing Kagura's eyes were stuck on: her daughter's tear stained face.

"Kanna-chan!" She exclaimed as she took the young child in her arms. Kagura ran her hands over Kanna's body, trying to assess if she was unharmed. "Oh my baby. I'm so happy you're okay." As much as she tried not to cry, the wind sorceress could not help but sob as she squeezed the small warm body to herself. A smile did appear on her lips when the child returned the constricting hug by looping her arms around her mother's neck. Her small gesture was rewarded by a kiss to the top of her downy head.

"Thank you! Thank you for bringing my baby back to me." Kagura looked away from Kanna's head to look at her lover's younger brother. "Why the long face? Kanna's back, everything's fine now. By the way where's Sessh? I could almost forgive him for drugging me right now." She chuckled gently.

"Kagura…" Inuyasha started then interrupted himself, struggling to let out the words he needed to speak. _'She needs to hear it from me, not anyone else.' _He tried gathering some strength.

"Something happened…" The hanyou tried again to explain the situation, but found his throat to be constricted.

"What? What is it? Tell me what happened!" She ordered the half demon, a feeling of unease growing inside her. Something told her that there was more to her daughter's tears than the fact that they had been reunited.

He reluctantly opened his mouth and said the words she dreaded. "It's Sesshoumaru, Naraku shot him."

And just like that Kagura knew exactly what it meant to go from the greatest of joys to the deepest of sorrows.

**To be continued…**

A/N: I did say things would accelerate, did I not? We'll see what happens next time. I don't know yet how the chapter will be named, but I will try to update as soon as possible :)


	82. Ripples

_**Chapter 82: Ripples**_

A/N: Hello! Yes I know long time no see :) There will be a great shocker in this chapter, so please whatever happens, don't hate me! Thank you for the great reviews:

**Syzhale (x3)**

**BlackBurningHeart **

**Little25Victor **(You will find out exactly what happened in this one. Although you may be left with many more questions lol)

**Roguereader **(Interesting theory, we shall see how right you are. Cyber threat ah ha I guess that explains the great pressure I've been feeling at my back every day lol)

**KikyoisaBYOTCH**

**Glasstears17**

Now unto the chapter!

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Hey mangy wolf! Do you have things in hand here?" He asked his friend._

_ "Don't worry Dogshit, we can handle the rest of them." Kouga interrupted himself to block a punch one of Naraku's hired men was trying to deliver to his face. "Go help your brother." He then grunted. He too could distinguish the steadily growing smell of the dog demon's blood, and was worried for him._

_Not needing to be told twice, the half dog demon did as suggested, and hurried over to the set of stairs. As he climbed up, he could discern more and more the scent of his brother's blood in the air, and that worried him. As he finally reached the upper level of the warehouse, he could not help but halt. He knew the scene that greeted his eyes would stay etched in his mind forever: an unknown young demoness was holding on to a sobbing Kanna as the two of them stared helplessly at a large pool of Sesshoumaru's sizzling acidic blood quickly spreading on the ground._

"What the fuck?" Inuyasha exclaimed angrily. He ignored the pain in his leg where he had received a vicious kick earlier, and slightly limping walked towards his injured brother.

"Do _not_ get involved." Sesshoumaru growled. As much as his left arm throbbed in pain, the dog demon forced himself to ignore the ache. He would not give Naraku the satisfaction of knowing how much the bullet wound he had inflicted was burning him. He did not even allow himself to check on his injury, and kept his eyes trained on the seething hanyou. He could feel his blood steadily flow from the wound and dribble down his arm, but did his best to ignore both the sick feeling of losing so much blood and the sharp pain.

"The bastard fucking shot you!" An incredulous Inuyasha snapped back at his brother. He could not detach his wide golden eyes from his brother's injured arm. The material of the expensive designer shirt was being eaten away and dissolved by the quickly flowing demonic blood. The acidic substance was sliding down the pale skin then fast collecting in a sizzling red puddle, which was slowly disintegrating the outer layer of the concrete ground.

"Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru stated in an authoritative voice. "Take Kanna and the woman down to the car, and leave this place."

"Keh! Are you insane? I'm not going to leave you alone here. In case you didn't notice, you're injured you asshole!"

"Do as you are told." The older half sibling allowed himself to briefly look away from Naraku to send his brother a glare.

"Why exactly should I listen to you? You're bleeding all over the damn place!" The silver haired hanyou pointed out.

Naraku could feel a muscle twitch in his jaw. He was enraged. Instead of paying any attention to him, the two brothers were bickering as if he was not even present. _'I just need to wait until my little surprise really comes into effect.' _ He thought to himself, eyes stuck on Sesshoumaru's steadily bleeding wound.

"Would you like me to take care of you as well?" The spider half demon addressed Inuyasha, for the first time averting the target of his gun from Sesshoumaru to his younger half sibling.

"Your issue is with me Naraku, do not involve anyone else."

"As you wish my dear son in-law, you know I aim to please." The dark hanyou reverted the aim of the barrel of his gun back to its original target.

Sensing the thick tension in the room, Mayumi decided to intervene. She had never in a million years expected Naraku to shoot the father of the sobbing young girl she was holding in her arms.

_'He must have lost his mind.' _The young woman thought to herself. She had always been scared of the hanyou, but now she was downright terrified. She could not help but think that if he had dared use his weapon against the strong inu youkai, then what could stop him from gunning her down? And unlike Sesshoumaru she was not sure she would be able to survive being shot.

"I will take care of Kanna." Mayumi whispered, hoping that her use of a meek voice would prevent Naraku from paying too much attention to her. Little did she know that the little girl would ensure that would not be the case.

"Daddy." Kanna let out in a whimper of protest upon hearing Mayumi's words. Her dark red rimmed eyes could not detach themselves from her father's blood soaked shirt sleeve.

"Do not worry, uncle Inuyasha will take you home to your mother." Sesshoumaru suddenly found himself struggling to speak. To his surprise instead of lessening to a throb, the pain of his bullet wound was increasing. Not only that, but he was he still losing as much blood as before.

'_This is strange, my body should have already started trying to heal the wound, and should have stopped the blood loss.' _He thought to himself, doing his best to prevent his surprise from registering on his face. Not wanting to appear weak in either his brother's eyes, or Naraku's, he decided it was time for his counter attack. He focused his power and willed his poison to gather in his right hand, causing his claws to elongate and turn a green color. He would have done the same with his left hand, but due to his injury he was unable to do so. His arm was heavy and only moving it caused great pain. He of course would not let anyone know about that.

"The hell I will." The half dog demon cracked his knuckles as his eyes moved to stay on the grinning hanyou who was still holding his brother at gun point. If his brother was going to fight as his display of power indicated, then Inuyasha would stay by his side and fight alongside him. "I am not leaving you alone so that asshole can shoot you again!"

"Don't worry about it Dogshit, I'll have your brother's back." Inuyasha and Mayumi were the only ones who dared turn their eyes from the 'main action' to look at the newcomer. It was Kouga who had just walked up the stairs. Even though he had had to use his trusted gun, Goraishi on several of Naraku's goons, the young demon had thankfully not been harmed very badly. He could however feel his cheek swell due to a kick he had received to the face. The wolf demon could then not help but run his tongue over his sharp teeth, and could feel one or two missing. A groan rose in his throat as he thought of how long it would take for them to grow back. He was a demon, and knew they would eventually, but the question was how long the process would take.

'_I'm gonna have a hell of a time explaining that one to Ayame… or her father.' _He reflected as he thought about the best way to explain to his boss what had happened in the Magokoro's warehouse.

Naraku was not very happy about the arrival of the police lieutenant. He knew Sesshoumaru would bring his own reinforcements, but had not expected for the police to be involved.

"Inuyasha take the kid home, her mom must be sick with worry. We'll take care of things here." Kouga said again, hoping that his friend would do as told.

"Feh! Fine, but you better not let yourself get even more banged up." The silver haired hanyou growled. Considering that Naraku had shot Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha could not anticipate what exactly the dark hanyou would do next. Since he had kidnapped the child, he would not put it past him to try to hurt Kanna further. To his greatest regret it seemed that getting the young child out of harm's way meant he had to leave his brother behind, and as much as he hated it, he could not see any other solution.

_'At least Kouga's here, and as much as he may get on my nerves, other than Miroku there's no other man I'd let watch over Sesshoumaru…' _Inuyasha thought to himself.

"Come here." Inuyasha instructed the shivering Mayumi. She reluctantly did as told, and handed Kanna to Inuyasha's outstretched arms.

Inuyasha was about to go downstairs, but something occurred to him. "What I am supposed to do with her?" He pointed his chin towards Mayumi.

"Have Jakotsu and Bankotsu tell her where they have kept her mother and let her go." Sesshoumaru ordered. He decided to be magnanimous as he was sure Mayumi was not a willing participant of Naraku's schemes; the faint bruises on her face and arms were indication enough of that, so was the careful way she had been cradling Kanna in her arms until she had handed the child to her uncle, which was something that had not escaped Sesshoumaru's keen eyes.

"Fine. Just don't get yourself killed." Inuyasha threw over his shoulder as he hurried down the stairs. His logic was simple: the faster he brought Kanna to safety, the faster he would be able to come back and help his brother.

"What about daddy?" Kanna whispered in one of the young hanyou's dog ears.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine kid." Inuyasha said with a forced smile even as he thought _'He better if he doesn't want me to revive him so I can kill him all over again.'_

As soon as Inuyasha left, Kanna in his arms, and a hesitant Mayumi closely following behind him, Sesshoumaru relaxed. He knew what needed to be done, but his daughter's presence and his brother's morals had stopped him from accomplishing.

"Ku ku ku Sesshoumaru, are you sure it is such a good idea to have sent your bother away?" Naraku chuckled. If the fine sweat that had broken out on his enemy's forehead was any indication, the enchanted bullet he had tried so hard to obtain had worked, and Sesshoumaru would soon be unable to fight him.

_'I may have lost my bargain chip, but I can still escape with my life.' _He thought to himself. _'All I need is make sure that the wolf leaves us alone, and the best way to do that would be to taunt that prideful dog.'_

In order for his plan to come to fruition, he added "You may be too weak to take care of me especially _alone_."

Just as he had expected, his words worked like magic.

"Kouga, leave." Sesshoumaru snarled.

Kouga was reluctant to leave Sesshoumaru alone with the man who had injured him so badly, but could understand the request of the other demon.

_'If some bastard had kidnapped my baby girl and hurt her, I also would want to be left alone to hand him so justice by my own hands' _Even as he thought about that, the young wolf demon struggled with his instincts as a police lieutenant. '_I know I should arrest that scumbag of Naraku, and let him rot in prison, but I've seen monsters like him walk away from a conviction way too many times because of some legal loophole…' _He closed his eyes for a brief second, trying to think about the best course of action. He could tell that his instincts as a policeman were about to be overcome by his animal instincts and especially the important idea for canine demons like him and Sesshoumaru to protect the members of their packs. Contrary to their ancestors it might not be an actual way of life, but it still was a concept of importance to him personally, and his need and urge to protect had been one of the driving forces behind his career path.

'_I did promise Inuyasha I'd have his brother's back too… Damn it why is this so hard?'_

"I give you fifteen minutes to take care of him, if not I'll cuff him, and you'll never get a chance to rid us all of that asshole." Kouga surprised even himself as he muttered these words. "In the meantime I'll go take care of the men we tied up downstairs."

"That will be more than enough time." The dog demon agreed. It was however only after the wolf demon had left them that Sesshoumaru walked towards Naraku. To his shock, the action was requiring more energy that he had anticipated. He knew that he had lost a lot of blood, but had not realized how much the small injury was costing him in strength.

"Wasn't it a great idea my dear son in-law?" Naraku gloated then noticing Sesshoumaru's confusion added. "The bullet I shot you with was enchanted. The wound will close slower than usual and while we are speaking you are losing a lot of blood, which will slowly but surely rob you of your strength. As of right now you are in no shape to cause me any harm. You really should have not sent your wolf friend away."

_'That explains the constant ache, and my lack of energy.' _The enraged dog demon thought to himself. Ignoring the pain, he forced a grin on his lips and said. "It only means to me that I will have to get rid of you fast." He then leaped towards the unsuspecting Naraku.

The half demon swiftly took a step back, barely evading a scratch from Sesshoumaru's poison claws.

_'Damn him! It seems he was not as affected as I would have hoped.' _Naraku thought angrily. Even if he was impressed, he did not take the time to marvel on Sesshoumaru's resilience. Unless he wanted to be arrested or worse killed, he would need to make a swift escape. However because of the absence of Kanna and Mayumi, he was left with no shields.

"If you think that your poor attempt at evading me will be enough to save your life then you are mistaken." Sesshoumaru may be a strong demon, but he was not a stupid one either. He knew that in order to get rid of Naraku, he would need to rely on one of his most powerful attacks, his poisons whip. However he also knew that if he summoned such a powerful and energy draining move then the effects of the enchanted bullet would be magnified. And even if he did not know what exactly Naraku had added to his bullets because of its potent effects, wasting unnecessary energy was not something he could afford to do. He probably would not be able to focus enough energy to maintain his whip for a long, and would therefore need to be quick and efficient.

_'I am more than willing to take this chance.' _Even as he thought the words, Sesshoumaru suddenly felt his left arm completely go numb, and this he knew was not a good sign. He needed to act, and fast.

Sesshoumaru focused his energy away from his now limp and useless left arm, and towards his right one. His eyes squinted from the effort, but soon enough the claws of his right hand lengthened into a whip, and turned a light green shade. The only indication of Naraku's sudden fear upon seeing Sesshoumaru's weapon was a slight widening of his eyes.

"What do you mean to do to me? Flog me?" Naraku tried scoffing his fear away. He was hoping to distract Sesshoumaru long enough for him to run out of energy, and allow the older demon to run away.

"No. I aim to kill you." One thing Naraku had not anticipated was this much honesty from Sesshoumaru.

While he struggled to think about a fitting answer, the dog demon was already upon him. Sesshoumaru extended his arm, causing his deadly whip to snap and uncurl to its full length. He then threw it in the direction of Naraku. The dark hanyou was unable to move out of the way, or do anything but let out a gasp as Sesshoumaru's poison whip coiled itself around his pale throat.

Sudden sharp pain resonated throughout his entire body even if it was only his neck that was being melted away by the poison. He tried taking a deep breath, hoping to dislodge the heavy weight, but it was impossible.

"I… will…leave… you… alone." Naraku struggled to let out. Sesshoumaru ignored him. The only proof that he had heard the croak let out by the half demon was that he tightened the hold of his whip. His right arm briefly shook with the great effort, but he did not relent. Unfortunately, and to his own dismay, as much as he tried, his fantasy of melting Naraku's head away with poison was not to be. He could simply not summon enough poison to do so.

_'Then I will have to content myself with strangling the bastard to death.' _Sesshoumaru thought to himself.

A groan of pain escaping his thin lips, Naraku collapsed on the ground.

Sesshoumaru walked over to stand directly over Naraku's twisted form. The spider half demon was using his long fingers to try to claw at the whip, hoping to remove it from his wind pipe. Unfortunately for him this only resulted in the searing pain over his throat to expand to his burning hands. He opened and closed his mouth several times trying to feed much needed air to his starving lungs, but to no avail. He may have never killed anyone, but Sesshoumaru knew better than to relax his hold on the half demon.

The dog demon did his best not to wrinkle his nose as the disgusting stench of Naraku's burning flesh rose to reach his sensitive nose. Kouga would be back soon, and he wanted this disgusting task to be done with by the time the wolf would be back.

For a long time his cold golden eyes only stared down at Naraku's quickly fading red ones. As distasteful as what he was doing might be, he knew it needed to be done. After all it was the only way to make sure his family would be safe. Only thinking about how much pain Naraku had caused to is family strengthened his resolve. He struggled but managed to increase the hold of his whip around the other demon's neck. Naraku's pale lips let out a rasping noise as his body started thrashing. Despite the jerking motion, Sesshoumaru refused to let go.

With one last gasp, Naraku Onigumo was no more. Sesshoumaru looked into the wide opened eyes of the dead hanyou. He was surprised not to feel anything. Not even regret. He released the hold he had on Naraku's neck, and before he could retract his whip it disintegrated; he did not have enough energy for it to keep its form.

'_It is over. Kagura and our family will be safe'_ These were the last words that rang through Sesshoumaru's head as he fell to the ground, completely exhausted, only a few feet away from Naraku's lifeless body.

* * *

"_Something happened…" The hanyou tried again to explain the situation, but found his throat to be constricted._

_ "What? What is it? Tell me what happened!" She ordered the half demon, a feeling of unease growing inside her. Something told her that there was more to her daughter's tears than the fact that they had been reunited._

_He reluctantly opened his mouth and said the words she dreaded. "It's Sesshoumaru, Naraku shot him."_

_And just like that Kagura knew exactly what it meant to go from the greatest of joys to the deepest of sorrows._

"He was shot in the arm though, and Sessh's a tough bastard… he'll be fine." Inuyasha quickly blurted out. He was trying to reassure Kagura as much as himself.

"Was it a graze? Did the bullet go through? Was he bleeding a lot?" Kagura had fired her questions too quickly for her would be brother in-law to be able to answer. Just as he was about to try to, the young half demon felt his phone ring in his pocket. Glad to be offered a reprieve, he quickly answered.

Kagura's scared crimson eyes briefly flashed with annoyance. She was worried about her fiancé, and at the moment Inuyasha was the only one able to give her some sort of information.

"What surgery? Yeah we'll be there… I'll bring her along too. Thank you." A somber look on his face, Inuyasha hung up his cell phone and put it back in his pocket.

"What happened? What was this about a surgery?" This time around to her relief, Inuyasha answered her quickly.

"That was Kouga. He's at the hospital; he brought Sesshoumaru there so Suikotsu can fix him up."

Kagura let out a relieved sigh. As long as her lover was alive, there was hope he could be getting better.

"So what are you waiting for, let's go!" Without waiting for the young hanyou, Kagura rushed outside of the room, Inuyasha following closely behind her. She could have woken up her mother, and ask her to watch over Kanna, but now that the toddler was back in her arms, she had no intention of letting her out of her sight.

_'You better not have let that asshole of Naraku kill you Sessh!' _The young wind sorceress struggled not to let tears slip out of her eyes.

* * *

The whole ride in Inuyasha's small sports car had been a complete blur to Kagura. The whole time she had silently prayed and hoped for Sesshoumaru's recovery. The fact that her lover had been shot by her former father was bad enough, but the idea that he could die from his wound was unbearable.

_'I will blame myself forever if he doesn't make it…' _These were the words that ran through her head over and over.

"What are you waiting for?" Inuyasha's question and snappy tone caused her to come back to her senses. It was then that she raised her eyes, and realized that his car was parked in front of what she recognized as being the biggest hospital of the city. It was one she had not been able to get her daughter admitted when Kanna had been sick.

The wind sorceress came out of the car, then released her daughter from Shippou's car seat which was placed in the back of Inuyasha's bright red car. One thing Kagura was grateful for was that her daughter had stopped crying, and was staying quiet. She picked Kanna up and gently cradled her in her arms. Again she worried if taking her daughter along had been the best of ideas, and once again she pushed the guilt away. After what Naraku had done, the idea of leaving Kanna out of her sight was more than she could bear.

Kagura silently followed Inuyasha as he rushed inside, his golden eyes looking around, and searching for Kouga's long black ponytail.

"Over here Inuyasha." The fact that the young wolf demon had actually used his name caused a feeling of unease to spread through the younger of the two Takahashi brothers.

Kagura and Inuyasha quickly joined the man who had called over to them from the entrance of a nearby corridor.

"How is Sesshoumaru?" Kagura immediately asked. Her question was met with an uneasy smile from Kouga.

"I'll let Suikotsu fill you in." The police lieutenant stepped aside to reveal Sesshoumaru's personal physician. Other than the deep frown present in between Suikotsu's brows, another indication of how tired the young doctor was the dark circles under his eyes.

"Sesshoumaru is going to need surgery to take the bullet out. As we speak he is being prepared for that…"

"Bust he'll be fine, right?" Kagura interrupted him. During the time she had spent working for Naraku, she had seen her share of people victims of bullet wounds. One thing she had taken away from this was that as long as the bullet was taken out, a youkai who had been shot would have a good chance of getting better.

"It's hard to tell." Suikotsu interrupted to rub his tensed neck with a large hand. "There might be complications… I mean he has lost a lot of blood. He will surely need a blood transfusion in order to have any chances of making it. Unfortunately we don't have inu youkai blood on hand…"

The blunt way in which the doctor had explained how dire the situation was caused Kagura's spirits to plummet, but she brightened up as something occurred to her. "What about Inuyasha?" She turned towards the hanyou. "He's his brother. He could give him blood!"

All three men stayed silent as if not wanting to tell her something, which unnerved Kagura more than anything. Inuyasha was the one who dared break the uncomfortable silence.

"Keh! We're only half brothers. I am half human…" The way in which he spoke let Kagura know that this was a sore spot for him.

_'I can be such an idiot sometimes. If it had been possible, I am sure that Inuyasha would have offered.' _She let out a sigh of annoyance and balanced Kanna's weight on one of her hips, so that she could use her free hand to rub her tired eyes.

"Yeah well, all we need is to find some dog demon who'll be willing to donate some blood." Kouga pointed out after clearing his throat. He hoped that his quick intervention would help clear off the suddenly uncomfortable atmosphere.

_'I can't imagine how they'll all react when I tell them what Sesshoumaru did to that Naraku fellow…' _Kouga felt himself shiver before he could stop himself from reacting. He knew that he would never be able to forget the image of Sesshoumaru lying down next to Naraku's lifeless body.

"Things are not this easy. Sesshoumaru possesses toxic blood as well. The chances of finding a youkai that can fulfill both of these criteria are not that high…" Suikotsu was once again interrupted, but this time not by Kagura.

"I believe this is why I was called." A female voice came from behind the group of people.

"You?" Kagura could not help but gasp as her crimson eyes took in the newcomer: Asuka Takahashi, Sesshoumaru's mother. "What are you doing here?" She repressed a snort once she got the clear answer to her question. In fact she had just spied the shiny bald head of none other than Jaken who was trying to remain as hidden as possible behind the impressive folds Asuka's lavish dress. She had never quite understood why Sesshoumaru was attached to the green skinned, yellow eyed kappa. From the moment she had met him while working at the Takahashi agency, she had not been able to stand the small demon. Of course this was a feeling he shared as well.

"Did you think I would not come if I was told that my only son was in the hospital?" Asuka spat angrily.

_'I will not let her get the best of me. I know that this is exactly what she wants, and I will not give her this satisfaction. Besides I have much more important things to deal with right now than fighting with Sesshoumaru's mother. The first one is to find a blood donor for him.' _Her own words helped calm Kagura greatly. She now had her priorities straight.

"I am sure Sesshoumaru will be glad to hear about your concern." She forced herself to say aloud. "Now if you'll excuse us, we are in the middle of trying to find a solution to an important issue."

"How dare you talk to Sesshoumaru-sama's mother like this? She has been called here in order to save his life!" Jaken sputtered angrily. He brandished his little green fist angrily. Kagura was sure that the only reason he dared display his anger in such a way was that he was being protected by Asuka's presence.

Kagura let out a sigh of pure relief. If anyone would be able to donate blood to Sesshoumaru, it would be his mother. Tears of pure relief and gratitude pooled inside her crimson eyes.

"You would do this?"

"Of course, I want my son to recover after all." Asuka snapped as an answer to Kagura's question.

"Then what are you waiting for?" The wind sorceress turned away from her future mother in-law to look at her fiancé's personal physician. "You need to get her blood right now."

"He will, the second you leave us." Asuka grinned openly; she had just been handed the perfect opportunity to get her son rid of Kagura.

"What did you just say?" The wind sorceress quickly turned back around to face the older dog demoness.

"Oh I think you have heard me perfectly well. I believe it is high time I have our family free of you."

**To be continued…**

A/N: So Naraku's dead! I have to admit writing the scene of Sesshoumaru killing him was quite hard. But I'm glad at seeing how it turned out. Asuka is going to try to break apart our fave couple, will they be able to make it? And will Sesshoumaru even survive the surgery, we'll find out next time.


	83. Tug of War

_**Chapter 83: Tug of War**_

A/N: I am so sorry for the wait. I just have a lot going on right now… Not that you guys need to worry about that. Here's your next chapter. Thank you for the uplifting reviews:

**Syzhale **

**BlackBurningHeart **

**Little25Victor **(Ah ha sorry for not killing Naraku off in a bloody and gore way. I'll try to do better next time. Don't be too quick to judge Asuka, she might surprise you…)

**KikyoisaBYOTCH**

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_How dare you talk to Sesshoumaru-sama's mother like this? She has been called here in order to save his life!" Jaken sputtered angrily. He brandished his little green fist angrily. Kagura was sure that the only reason he dared display his anger in such a way was that he was being protected by Asuka's presence._

_Kagura let out a sigh of pure relief. If anyone would be able to donate blood to Sesshoumaru, it would be his mother. Tears of pure relief and gratitude pooled inside her crimson eyes._

_ "You would do this?" _

_ "Of course, I want my son to recover after all." Asuka snapped as an answer to Kagura's question._

_ "Then what are you waiting for?" The wind sorceress turned away from her future mother in-law to look at her fiancé's personal physician. "You need to get her blood right now."_

_ "He will, the second you leave us." Asuka grinned openly; she had just been handed the perfect opportunity to get her son rid of Kagura._

_ "What did you just say?" The wind sorceress quickly turned back around to face the older dog demoness._

_ "Oh I think you have heard me perfectly well. I believe it is high time I have our family free of you." _

For a quick second Kagura could not help but wonder if she should laugh out loud; the words that had just come out of Asuka's mouth were just too ludicrous to her. She decided against it however as the setting was not appropriate.

"So just to get rid of me, you would put your own son's life in jeopardy? You've just officially reached a new low..." Kagura's words caused Asuka's golden eyes to briefly flash red. The older demoness however did her best to keep her anger in check.

"What kind of person do you take me for? I would never do such a thing. I have always had Sesshoumaru's best interest at heart. I will save his life, but for this same reason I will have our family rid of you." Even if she had been speaking to Kagura, her cold eyes went around the circle of men standing behind the wind sorceress, as if daring them to disprove her words; however, all of them, including Inuyasha, stayed silent.

On the other hand, Kagura was not one to sit back while she was being threatened, by Sesshoumaru's mother of all people.

"Well it seems you might have some redeeming qualities after all… Anyway I think it is high time for _you_ to accept the fact that I am with Sesshoumaru, and that I am not planning on going anywhere. Besides there's nothing you can do about it…" Kagura briefly hesitated. This was not the perfect moment to tell her future mother in-law about her news, but she could not help herself.

"Especially now that Sesshoumaru and I are engaged." Her little admission had the effect of a bomb on Asuka, which was not a surprise to Kagura. Ever since she had first met her lover's mother, she had known that the other demoness hated her. Not that Kagura minded much, she returned the feeling whole heartedly.

To the wind sorceress's dismay, instead of a scowl, Asuka displayed a bright smile.

_'Why the hell is she smiling at me like this?' _She could not help but wonder on the unusual behavior of the older inu youkai.

"Engaged you said? Really?" Asuka's finely painted lips revealed her two pointy fangs as she let out a small chuckle which grated on Kagura's nerves. "How come is it that I have not heard of this?" Her golden eyes rolled to the side to look at Jaken's diminutive form. The small green kappa sputtered excuses, but was ignored by everyone.

"I am sure Sesshoumaru was going to tell you soon enough. Sorry to disappoint you, but it seems you will have to contend yourself with having me as a daughter in-law."

"I will only believe this once I will see proof of it."

As much as she knew she should not respond to Asuka's baiting words, she could not help it.

"Sesshoumaru gave me Tenseiga as an engagement ring, unfortunately it's getting resized right now, so until then you'll have to wait for your proof." The second Kagura spoke the words, she knew it had not been a good idea to tell Asuka about it. She could remember a comment Sesshoumaru had made when he had given her the precious heirloom pearl necklace the night of the gala almost a year ago.

_'He said that his mother would love to get her hands on the Takahashi family jewelry, but would never be able to…'_ This information coupled with the fact that his father had given Izayoi _both_ the Tenseiga and the _Tetsusaiga_ lead Kagura to believe that her fiancé giving her the precious ring would be the one thing Asuka would never be able to forgive her.

"I have never heard something so ridiculous. You lying slut. My son would never do something so stupid. I have taught him better. If you wished Sesshoumaru to be a living checkbook for you and your bastard child, you could have found better than your lies."

Kagura was furious. She didn't care that Asuka insulted her, but her daughter, her precious Kanna was off limits. She could feel her arms shaking in anger, but the fact that she was carrying Kanna prevented her from swinging a fist in Asuka's direction. The wind sorceress however wanted to retort something to Asuka's insinuations, but she did not have the chance.

"Kagura." Suikotsu leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Let it go for now. I will look into it as soon as we are done with Sesshoumaru's surgery. Time is of the essence." Of course she knew he was right. Saving her lover's life was the most important thing at the moment; more important than restoring her and her daughter's honor.

Asuka being a dog demoness had easily picked up on Suikotsu's words.

"Indeed. Take me to my son; I have wasted enough time here."

Suikotsu nodded in assent to Asuka's words, and after sending Kagura a long searching look, which she could not interpret, headed towards the elevators, Asuka and Jaken following closely behind him.

"Wow that was one tough bitc… woman." Kouga amended. He had never met Asuka before, and even if he had been witness to the animosity between her and Kagura, he did not know how her relationship with Inuyasha was. The last thing he wanted was to rekindle his feud with the hanyou over a stupid comment.

The answer to his unasked question was soon to come. "Keh! 'Bout time she left. I never could stand that bitch." The hanyou turned his golden eyes towards Kagura, who he noticed was still fuming.

_'Kagome's the one who has a way with words, but since she isn't here, I guess I should try to make Kagura feel better...' _After taking a large calming breath, he started speaking.

"You don't need to worry about her. The second Sessh is out of surgery, he'll send her packing. It's one thing for her to get money out of him, but another to insult you and Kanna like that." He wanted to say more, but really could not figure out how else to cheer her up.

"Thanks Inuyasha. I know you're right." She smiled at him. She was surprised, yet touched that he had done his best to make her feel better.

"Feh! Don't get all emotional on me now." Obviously uncomfortable the silver haired hanyou scratched the back of his head with his sharp claws. "Anyways, we should move out of this corridor. Kagura you should head for the waiting room. I have to give Kagome a call, but I'll meet up with you then."

The prospect of resting during Sesshoumaru's surgery was more than welcome. She was exhausted because she had not gotten a lot of sleep ever since her daughter had been taken away, and her arms were starting to ache as she had been carrying Kanna for a long period of time. Her daughter had grown a lot, and was becoming quite heavy for Kagura to hold.

"Isn't it too early to call her?" Kagura asked giving the clock on the wall a quick glance.

"She has horrible nausea in the morning because of the baby, so she always wakes up early…" The hanyou informed her. He did not mention that he was sure his fiancée must also be very worried about their fates. As he spoke, even if he was ashamed of it, he could not help but look quickly at Kouga. The wolf demon had briefly dated Kagome, and as much as he hated it, Inuyasha was still a little jealous every time the wolf demon and his fiancée were mentioned in the same sentence.

Kagura could not help but smile slightly at Inuyasha's revelations. She knew all too well the ailments that went along with pregnancy, and she could really sympathize with Kagome's plight.

"If you think that's bad, wait until your kid's actually born. Nothing is worse than being kept up all night by a fussy baby. My girl's a real wolf demoness, she can howl for hours on end. Don't even get me started on four a.m. feedings…" Even if Kouga was complaining, after thinking about his beloved wife and their wondrous newborn daughter, there was nothing he wanted more than to go back home to them. However he knew there was something he needed to do prior to that.

"Yeah. Those were so much fun." Kagura agreed sarcastically. "Not that you would remember those, right Kanna-chan." Her daughter frowned in incomprehension, causing her mother to smile down at her before pressing a kiss to her downy forehead.

She then looked back to Inuyasha before addressing him. "If you plan on seeing Kagome, you might want to get checked out by a doctor. I'm sure she wouldn't like to see how beat up you got by Naraku." This was the closest she had come to asking about what had transpired when they had faced off earlier with her former employer. She had of course wondered about what had happened, but her fear for Sesshoumaru then argument with Asuka had taken all her attention.

It was however not Inuyasha who answered her question, but rather Kouga.

"Before you guys go off, I have something to tell you. Naraku is dead." His bright blue eyes stayed stuck on Kagura, wondering how she would react.

"Good riddance. I'm glad he won't be able to hurt us anymore." She squeezed her daughter closer to her as if wanting to protect her. Kagura was surprised that she did not feel anything upon hearing of the death of the man who had raised her. No anger. No sadness. Nothing.

"Was it Sesshoumaru who…" She found herself unable to put her thoughts into words.

"Yes." The police lieutenant answered even if he did refrain from telling her in what way exactly Sesshoumaru had killed Naraku.

"You'll make sure nothing happens to Sesshoumaru, right?" Inuyasha asked. The last thing his brother needed was to have to deal with explaining himself to the police during his recovery.

"Of course Dogshit! What kind of demon do you take me for?" A truly offended Kouga retorted. Of course Inuyasha had no way of knowing that the wolf demon had been the one who allowed Sesshoumaru to kill Naraku.

_'It had to be done to make sure that monster would be out of everyone's lives. If I was caught, I could always talk to the chief… He is Ayame's dad, and he would understand if I told him Naraku really needed killing…' _Seeing the relief in Kagura's face caused him to feel at peace about his decision. He had struggled with how he had allowed Sesshoumaru to do as he wished with Naraku, but now he was glad he had.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Come on Kagura let's get out of here." Not even bothering to bid Kouga goodbye, he headed towards the waiting room of the surgical block. His plan was to make sure his brother's fiancée and daughter were settled, then he would call Kagome and go back to Kagura, and wait until Suikotsu was done with Sesshoumaru's surgery.

"Hey Inuyasha just wait for a sec'." Kagura called after him. The hanyou paused, and sent her an annoyed look even if he did stop his progression. She then turned back towards Kouga, and with a genuine smile slightly bowed in his direction. The fact that she had Kanna at her hip made things a little awkward, but she managed. "I'd like to thank you for saving my daughter. I know we didn't start on the right foot, but I'd like you to know I'll always be grateful."

"Geez you don't need to do all that… I was just doing my job." The flustered police lieutenant stammered. It was unusual for him to receive such gratitude from the victims he helped. "Anyways, I have to get going… I have a wife waiting at home. I'll check back again to see how Sesshoumaru's doing; although, I know that tough bastard isn't going to let Naraku be the one who killed him." With a final nod towards the wind sorceress, Kouga walked towards the exit.

For a long time Kagura's crimson eyes followed his swinging dark ponytail. She then turned to join Inuyasha.

"Keh! How come I didn't get a thanks?" The half dog demon slightly pouted. "I did get a busted cheek, and if you hadn't noticed I'm still limping."

"Stop whining. I'll be sure to tell Kagome you were very heroic, she'll be grateful and will nurse you back to health. Besides you're a special case, we're family." She reached up to gently tug on one of his doggie ear, causing him to glare at her.

"Yeah yeah whatever." Even if he tried hiding it, she did see his little pleased smile. He started walking towards the elevators, and Kagura holding on strongly to her daughter followed closely after him.

* * *

"Why is it taking so long?" Kagura shot to her feet. For the past seven hours she had been waiting for Sesshoumaru's surgery to end, and to her dismay had not even received one word from anyone about how he was doing.

"You never have patience for anything, do you?" A mocking male voice asked. She turned around and was pleased to see Jakotsu smiling at her. She was relieved to see that he had not been badly hurt by the battle at the Magokoro warehouse, and had even taken the time to go home and change. The return of his trademark lipstick was a joy to see as well. Things were finally looking as they should to her.

"Bankotsu!" She then exclaimed when she saw the second member of the duo walk inside the waiting room. For the past two hours, Kagura had been alone, and having her dear bosses come keep her company would be nice.

Despite her protests, Sakura, Morio, Byakuya and even Hakudoushi had come to the hospital soon after she had been shown to the waiting room by Inuyasha. Rin and Shippou had stayed behind with Kagome who was looking after the two little ones.

Her newfound family members had kept Kagura company, and had done their best to cheer her up, promising to her that no demon as great as Sesshoumaru could be killed by a gunshot; she really wished she could have been as optimistic as them.

It was to Kagura's insistence that four hours into Sesshoumaru's surgery, her family left to go back home, taking a much exhausted Kanna with them. Now that Naraku was dead and gone, her mother had no need to fear for her safety.

_'Plus it would be unfair to keep Kanna stuck in this room. She needs her rest, and would be better off playing with Rin at the mansion then waiting here. Besides if Sesshoumaru was to…' _Even in her own head she could not put together the idea of her lover dying. _'I have to keep thinking positively. I can't doubt him in any way. Everyone's right, Sesshoumaru _is _tough; he'll be fine.'_

Inuyasha had tried to resist when Kagura continuously asked him to go see a doctor and get some much deserved rest. He finally gave in when she mentioned how poor _pregnant _Kagome had to be scared for him. Reminding him of his fiancée and her delicate condition caused him to excuse himself one hour after the departure of the Fujibayashis. He planned to quickly check in with Kagome and Shippou, and promised to be back as soon as possible. Kagura was therefore left alone, waiting for some sort of news from the surgical operating room. She was therefore relieved when Jakotsu and Bankotsu came into the room; she really was in need of some sort of distraction.

"So we heard some lone demoness might be in need of a little company, and decided to volunteer." Bankotsu's words brought a smile to her lips. For the last hours she had spent alone in the waiting room, she had really started regretting asking everyone to leave. Waiting alone was not a fun thing.

"Not only have we come to offer you our bodies, and our minds, we're also bearing a gift. Just be sure to keep an opened mind." Kagura was wary of the mischievous grin Jakotsu displayed when he spoke; she could tell he was up to no good, her suspicions were confirmed when he turned his head to look at the door, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Come on out, what are you waiting for? You'll mess up my introduction."

"Jakotsu, I am really not in the mood for one of your…" Kagura never got the chance to finish her sentence. She was interrupted by the arrival of a newcomer. A young woman slowly made her way towards her. Her long pale hair ran down her hunched shoulders. It was only when she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that Kagura noticed her pointed appendage, and knew she was a demoness. The one thing other from how thin the woman was that struck Kagura was the slowly healing purple bruises marring her pale skin. She had had too many of those not to be able to sympathize with the unknown young woman.

"Please don't be mad at them. They only did what I asked them to." Noticing the incomprehension on the face of the wind sorceress, the woman quickly started speaking. "My name is Mayumi… I am the one who took Kanna from the daycare… I used to work for Naraku, but I…"

Averting her furious crimson gaze from Mayumi, Kagura turned her attention to her friends. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I told you to keep an opened mind…" Jakotsu shrugged, clearly not impressed by Kagura's anger.

"And I told you it was a bad idea." Bankotsu pointed out to his lover.

"Oh shut up!" The young human snapped back. He then went towards Mayumi, and placed his arms on her frail shoulders. "Kagura, she only came here looking for your forgiveness, which you should give her, she did protect Kanna. She may have initially help Naraku, but in the end she turned on him. She's the one who took your dear baby out of the warehouse, and brought her to safety."

Kagura stayed silent for a long time, her crimson eyes taking in Mayumi. The younger demoness squirmed under her intimidating gaze, but did her best not to crumble.

_'I could have been in her shoes… I know all too well how Naraku can make someone do something they might not want to do.' _Even if Kagura tried blocking it, she could not help but think back to all the men she had sex with when she was working for Naraku.

"You came here to apologize, didn't you?" She knew Mayumi probably did not deserve such a snappy tone of voice, but the wind sorceress could not help herself. After all the other woman had taken her daughter…

"Kagura-san I am so sorry. If I did not help him, Naraku would have killed my mother… I did not want to hurt your daughter, but I had no choice." Mayumi felt tears of pain, shame and frustration burn her eyes, and did not try to hold them back

"Yeah, he has a tendency to threaten people like that…" Once again Kagura thought back to all the things she had done because of her so called father, and that she was so ashamed of. Even if she wanted to, she could not find it in her heart to hate the waif-like Mayumi. After all if Sesshoumaru had been able to look past the blemishes on her past, she could do the same for the other demoness.

"Sooo see Mayumi-chan, I did tell you Kagura would understand. She's like a lioness, so if she hears you protected her precious cub, she'll forgive you." Jakotsu declared in a nerve grating sing-song voice. The wind sorceress rolled her eyes in annoyance, but Mayumi let out a small chuckle. She wiped the tears out of her eyes, and displayed a bright smile. It was only then that Kagura got the chance to see that the other demoness was actually quite pretty.

"I have to go see my mother. She was just admitted at Suikotsu-sama's clinic thanks to Bankotsu and Jakotsu, and I do not want her to stay there alone." Just thinking about what the two young humans had done for her sick mom made her eyes shine with tears once again, but this time of gratitude. "Thank you again for forgiving me, I know it must not have been easy." With a final bow the frail and bruised demoness left the waiting room.

"Ugh you two… I don't know if I should thank you, or throttle you!" Kagura tiredly rubbed her forehead.

"Hum if you were a hot guy, I would go with throttle…" Jakotsu chuckled at the glare she sent her direction. "Don't be mad. We came to keep you company after all." He settled in one of the seats provided by the hospital to allow friends and family members to wait comfortably while their loved ones were undergoing a surgery. Bankotsu followed his lead, and Kagura sat back in the seat she had vacated when Mayumi had come in.

"I know how to make the time go by faster, let's tell each other jokes. I'll start with some sexy jokes."

"Jakotsu…" His boyfriend warned him.

"Oh come on lighten up honey, we're among friends here. Besides Kagura doesn't mind…" The young human turned his makeup adorned eyes from his boyfriend to his closest female friend.

"Well I…"

"See Banks, she's just fine. Okay have you ever heard the one about the two guys in a bar?"

Kagura had no choice, but shake her head in bemusement. She simply did not know what else to do. _'At least Jakotsu will be able to help take my mind off things… I just hope they finish the surgery soon, and that Sesshoumaru is alright.'_

* * *

"Kagura!" The wind sorceress felt someone shaking her shoulder, and her eyes popped opened. She blinked and it took her a second to remember where she was, and what had happened.

'_I must have fallen asleep…' _She was surprised to realize she was not in the seat she had been sitting on when she had been talking with Bankotsu and Jakotsu. She was in fact now lying on the only couch in the room, her arms folded under her head as in a makeshift pillow. _'Jakotsu or Bankotsu must have moved me.' _The idea that they had been so concerned with her comfort warned her heart.

"I am sorry to wake you up, but it is necessary." She bolted in a seated position when she realized who the voice belonged to: Suikotsu.

"How is Sesshoumaru? How was the surgery?" She noticed that he flinched, and her heart dropped; this did not look good.

'_Oh no no no. He had to be alright. I can't imagine life without him.' _She felt a familiar prickling sensation in her eyes, but decided not to give into tears just now.

"I managed to remove the bullet entirely. It took longer than first expected because it exploded, and there were fragments all over the place. My team and I managed to get everything out though." He reached one of his big hands up to rub his red rimmed tired eyes.

"But…" A male voice said. Kagura's head whipped to the side, and she just realized that Inuyasha had come back.

"The reason I decided to wait before telling you about the results of the surgery is that I wanted to monitor Sesshoumaru a little bit longer…" The young doctor paused, thinking about the best way to let Kagura know about the situation.

"Why? Something happened. Tell me!" Kagura jumped to her feet, and stared up in Suikotsu's dark eyes. She had to crane her head u to look at him because he was much taller, but she didn't care nor was she intimidated.

"It might just be nothing, so I do not want you to worry." The impatient groan Kagura let out pushed him to accelerate his explanation. "The anesthesia should have worn off a long time ago, but Sesshoumaru is not showing any signs of waking up any time soon… I have done surgeries on youkai before, but never has that happened before."

"Might it be because of his strong demonic blood?" Miroku's simple question caused the doctor's face to go completely pale.

"It might be. From what I have learned from my father, different breeds of youkai respond differently to poisons and drugs. Sesshoumaru being a full-fledged poisonous youkai must have affected whatever drug you used for the anesthesia." Sango volunteered. She was a descendant of generations and generations of demon slayers, and she had learned a lot about youkai from the knowledge her father had passed down to her.

"It is a possibility…" Suikotsu managed to choke out. _'Surgeries on youkai are a rare thing, so I am not too sure how the anesthesia works the different breeds of them… If toxic blood has some sort of reaction to the sleeping drugs, then pumping Sesshoumaru full of more poison during the surgery might not have been the best idea… Not that I had a choice, he had lost too much blood, and his mother was the only one we could use for a transfusion. I just hope it didn't make things worse.' _He ran a shaking hand though his short brown hair, a clear sign of nervousness.

'_Although I should have thought about that… We were running out of time, but I should have still consulted with one of my colleagues who are more versed in youkai… This is exactly why I told Sesshoumaru to find another doctor…' _Suikotsu suddenly felt very guilty. For a long time he had been worried about how he was caring for Sesshoumaru. The dog demon had refused to be seen by another doctor, one that would know more about youkai morphology. Despite how much Suikotsu had pointed out his shortcomings, Sesshoumaru had stuck with him. He claimed that he had helped finance the young human's clinic only so as to have a private physician, and no one except Suikotsu would fulfill that role.

While the young doctor thought back about his many arguments with Sesshoumaru, something occurred to him.

_'If I take for granted the fact that it is the mix of toxic inu youkai blood and the anesthesia that has caused Sesshoumaru to slip into a coma, then maybe making him ingest some of the herbal tea might be able to help; after all it's supposed to minimize the effects of his demonic blood. But then again, I am not sure it would be strong enough to do that.' _

A few years ago when Sesshoumaru's migraines increased in intensity, Suikotsu had done his best to recreate Izayoi's herbal tea recipe, but had had a hard time with it. No matter how many times he had begged Sesshoumaru to ask his step mother for the actual recipe, he had adamantly refused, which the young human doctor had a hard time understanding. _'Let's just hope that this time around his pride won't cost him his life.'_

"So what, we're supposed to just seat here and wait for Sesshoumaru to wake up?" Kagura's exclamation brought Suikotsu's attention back to her.

"I am afraid this is our only option." He agreed. "I would advise you all to go home, and get some rest. Especially you Kagura, you've been here since early this morning. If Sesshoumaru wakes up, we will contact you."

"That will not be necessary." Kagura instantly recognized the female voice that entered the room, and let out a groan of annoyance when she realized it was none other than Asuka… again.

The older demoness had taken the time to change. This time she was wearing a white tailored suit with a fitted silver colored skirt. It oddly reminded Kagura of Sesshoumaru's favorite gray suit, the one he always wore before attending an important meeting. Just thinking about him caused her heart to pinch, so she focused her attention back on Asuka. Feeling anger was so much better than sadness and despair.

In Kagura's opinion Asuka's best fashion choice was to appear without Jaken yapping behind her and holding on to her robes. One thing that caught her crimson eyes was that the left sleeve of Asuka's expensive suit was rolled up to reveal the pale skin of her arm, which was surrounded in gauze.

'_Who is she trying to impress? Just because she did her duty and gave her son some blood, she thinks she deserves a medal? She probably didn't even feel the tiny prick of the needle, and the wound resulting from it certainly must have healed hours ago.'_

Asuka noticed the direction of Kagura's gaze and smiled. She reveled in the fact that she had been the one to help save Sesshoumaru's life.

"I am sorry to have been late Suikotsu. I would like you to fill me in with all the information about my son's surgery, but before I need to deal with something quite unpleasant." The sound of several shuffling feet could be heard outside of the room, and Asuka's smile widened. "Perfect timing, here they are."

The older inu youkai stepped aside from the door to reveal a group of five big and burly hospital security guards.

"These are the people I want escorted out of here immediately."

"What are you doing? Are you out of your fucking mind?" An enraged Kagura said. She had about had it with Asuka. She could take her insulting words, but the idea of separating her from Sesshoumaru was going too far.

"I was merciful, and allowed you to stay until the end of Sesshoumaru's surgery. However it is now time for you to leave."

"I am sorry to sound rude, but what exactly makes you think you may dispose of us?" Miroku asked. He was shocked to see that his boss's mother was a woman of such beauty. As much as he wanted to comment her on her good looks, he dared not. The first reason was that if she was anything like her son she would melt his eyes with her poison claws. The second, and most important reason, was his girlfriend who was standing next to him.

"You all seem to forget something. Sesshoumaru is _my _son, and while he is incapacitated, I will be making decisions about his well being, and this includes who gets to see him, and how he is treated. I do have power of attorney over him, and am only acting in his best interest. Now either you exit quietly, or these gentlemen will help you." The older inu youkai turned to look at the five men standing behind her.

"You can't do this I am…" Kagura started and Asuka finished for her on a weary tone. "Sesshoumaru's fiancée? Yes yes, you have said so several times, but have yet to provide any proof of this claim."

"It doesn't matter!" Inuyasha interrupted Asuka before she resorted to insulting Kagura once more. "I am Sesshoumaru's emergency contact, and if something happens to him, he gave _me _the power of attorney thingy. He made me sign a bunch of papers about that a while back. He wanted to make sure I would be the one calling the shots if something like this happened. Guess the old bastard knows you a little too well." The hanyou grinned in the direction of his half brother's mother, knowing it would infuriate her beyond words.

Asuka did not bother answering. She snapped her fingers, and Jaken's small form appeared from behind the tall security guards.

"Explain." She simply told the small green demon.

He cleared his throat then opened his beak. "Sesshoumaru-sama has revoked this agreement a few weeks ago. My dear master must have finally realized how unfit you are." Jaken's bulging yellow eyes thinned as he glared at Inuyasha. He had never liked the hanyou, who he considered to be a stain on the perfect family tree of the Takahashi.

"What? That's bullshit! He'd never do that…" Jaken interrupted Inuyasha's statement by walking towards the half demon and thrusting a stack of papers under his nose. Knowing how much his best friend hated legal documents, Miroku stepped in. He took the papers away from Jaken, and swiftly scanned them.

"The papers state that Sesshoumaru indeed changed his wishes… It seems that without your previous agreement, his closest of kin is the person who gets to make decisions regarding him." The purpled eyes human said through gritted teeth. He was convinced Sesshoumaru had not intended for things to turn out this way. _'It is not like Sesshoumaru to change his mind like this. He must have had a plan. I'm sure he meant for Kagura to be the one to call the shots, but how to prove it?'_

"Closest of kin. That would be me, and not Sesshoumaru's _half _brother. Now do vacate the premises. This whole thing has become quite tedious." Asuka raised her hand, and pointed towards the group, indicating the security men to get into action.

"We will do as you wish." Miroku, ever the diplomat spoke for everyone.

"Miroku!" Sango could not help but gasp. She was not sure what her boyfriend was giving in so easily to a situation that was so obviously unfair.

"We have no choice…" He turned towards his lover, and she nodded in assent.

"The hell we do. Keh! What are they going to do? Beat us out of the place?" Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest. If Asuka wanted a fight, he was more than willing to comply.

"I agree with cutie, if these men want to put their hands all over me, I don't mind." Jakotsu gently licked his lower lip, a deadly intent clear in his dark eyes. "I'm sure my dear Bankotsu wouldn't mind."

"Not in the least." He agreed anger flashing in his cold blue gaze.

As touched as Kagura was at seeing how everyone was willing to fight for her, she did not want things to escalate.

_'They've all been hurt enough last night trying to get Kanna back for me. I can't ask them to fight another battle in my place. There's got to be some legal way to break Asuka's hold over Sesshoumaru, and I intend to find it.' _The wind sorceress swore to herself.

"No. Miroku is right, we should leave." Inuyasha, Sango, Bankotsu and Jakotsu turned around to glare at Kagura as if she had lost her mind, Miroku was the only one who sadly smiled in understanding.

"You are finally coming to your senses." Asuka seemed pleased with Kagura's answer. "Now Suikotsu why don't you take me to my son while these people leave?"

He hesitated for a second. He deep down knew Sesshoumaru well enough to know that the latest developments would enrage him, but there was nothing Suikotsu could legally do. _'If only we were in my clinic, and not in this hospital I might have had a chance to sneak Kagura in to see Sesshoumaru, but I am only a guest in this hospital… They were gracious enough to lend me an operating room to perform the surgery, so I doubt I will be able to bend the rules here… Not to mention that this Asuka woman seems to know the hospital regulations pretty well and would not be easy to fool. Maybe once we move Sesshoumaru back to my clinic I'll be able to work something out…'_

It was with heavy reluctance that the young doctor sent Kagura a saddened look before leaving, Asuka and a grinning Jaken trailing behind him.

"I can't believe you're letting that bitch win? She won't let you near her precious Sesshoumaru you know!" Inuyasha exclaimed. He hoped that his words would manage to get through Kagura this time around; it was not too late to catch up with Asuka.

"Contrary to what you may believe, Inuyasha, I haven't given up. I am planning to fight, but instead of using your fists, I'll be using my brain." Her crimson eyes noticed how the security guards suddenly relaxed; they were not keen on the idea of fighting the group of strong people in front of them. "As soon as we get home, get Sesshoumaru's lawyer on the phone, we'll need him."

**To be continued…**

A/N: Some complications with Sesshy's surgery… hum wonder if he'll make it. Asuka found a way to keep them apart, but Kagura has a trick up her sleeve. Will it work? We shall see next time in **A Desperate Plea**.


	84. A Desperate Plea

_**Chapter 84: A Desperate Plea**_

A/N: Hello dear readers. Not much to say, so onto the chapter!

Thanks to my amazing reviewers! I've been getting more reviews lately, and it not only warms my heart, but gives me one hell of a creative boost:

**Syzhale **

**BlackBurningHeart **

**BellaDora Soulmates**

**SamiMacKenzie**

**Little25Victor **(Aw Kagura's innocent question. My first fanfic; brings back good memories. I'm sorry if I confused you, but Sesshoumaru didn't actually give the power of attorney to his mother. It is because he took it away from Inuyasha that it went back to his mother as she is his closest of kin. Needless to say that he didn't plan it this way, and that _if_ he gets out of his coma, he will be livid.)

**KikyoisaBYOTCH**

**Roguereader **(So glad to hear from you again! Yes Kagura has matured, and is acting like a grown up for a change. Will it be enough to convince Asuka to change her mind? We shall see.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"This is simply ridiculous!" Morio paced the length of the living room once more. "Who does that woman think she is?"

"Honey please come down. She thinks she is doing what is best for her son, and we cannot fault her for that. Besides can you truly be surprised about how she is treating our daughter? Your own parents were not very welcoming towards me until Byakuya was born…" Even though he knew his wife was speaking the truth, the illusion demon was still enraged by the way Asuka had prevented Kagura from seeing her fiancé at the hospital.

"Don't worry I have no intention of letting her keep me away from Sesshoumaru when he needs me the most." Kagura declared as she strolled back in the living room. She had absented herself to bring her daughters a puzzle for them to amuse themselves while she talked to her parents. Kanna and Rin were playing in the latter's bedroom in the penthouse.

As soon as the group had left the hospital, Kagura and Inuyasha had gone to the Fujibayashi mansion in order to reunite with their children, and in his case fiancée as well. Then the wind sorceress had insisted on bringing her daughters home, which meant the penthouse she shared with Sesshoumaru. Even if she could not be by his side, at least she could feel his presence there.

_'I feel as though he's going to step out of our bedroom, and come join us any second…' _She thought sadly as she settled on the couch next to her mother. The other demoness wasted no time cradling her oldest child's hand in hers, hoping to bring her some comfort.

"The lawyer should be here any second." Kagura added as she forced a smile for her mother's benefit. Even if Kagura did not voice it, she appreciated the fact that Morio and Sakura had insisted on being there when she talked to Sesshoumaru's lawyer.

"He is late! As if the situation was not dire enough!" Morio growled again as he kept pacing the floor. Back and forth. Back and forth. They all stayed silent until the door bell rang, signaling the arrival of Myouga.

Before Kagura could stand up to answer the door, Morio headed for it. He threw it open, and his purple eyes were met with… nothing.

"If this is some joke it…" The illusions demon started grumbling, but he heard someone clear their throat to catch his attention. He lowered his gaze and saw a small round head adorned with bushy white hair and a big bald patch.

"I am here to meet with a Miss Onigumo. I was called by Inuyasha Takahashi-sama." Myouga craned his head to look up at the face of the younger demon.

"Yes. We have been waiting for you." Morio stepped aside to allow Myouga to walk inside the penthouse.

The lawyer's big beady eyes looked around the place, and he could not help but smile. Things had greatly improved since his last visit. Pictures of the 'happy little family' now decorated the side table as did framed hand drawn portraits. He had seen Sesshoumaru's art often enough to know he had to have been the author of the drawings. What surprised the elderly youkai the most was a white child playpen which took away a big chunk of the living room.

_'Not to mention that the place is not about to be shut down by the public health department… This young woman is a good influence on Sesshoumaru.' _The old flea thought to himself remembering how messy Sesshoumaru's penthouse used to be. _'I bet that if I was to visit the kitchen, it would not be taken over by dirty dishes and half empty take out boxes.'_

"From what Inuyasha-sama has told me you are in need of some legal counsel." Myouga did not wait for an invitation, and sat on the armchair to the right side of the couch Kagura and her mother were sharing.

"Would you like some tea?" Sakura, ever the gracious hostess offered. The old flea demon smiled at her, enthralled by her beauty, and quickly accepted.

Morio settled on the other free armchair, the one opposite Myouga, and studied the much shorter demon intently.

"Did Inuyasha tell you what happened?" Kagura took charge of the conversation.

"Yes he did." Myouga smiled up at Sakura when she placed a cup of tea in front of him. He quickly picked up the offered drink, and brought it to his lips. "Hum quite tasty, thank you ma'am."

Kagura did her best to keep her cool. It would not be right to wish Myouga chocked on his tea after all. She did need his counsel, and decided to force an answer out of him.

"And how can I prove that I have a right to be in that damn hospital room with Sesshoumaru?"

"If you had signed the papers I had readied, this would not have happened." Myouga put down the cup back on its matching saucer.

"Papers?" Kagura echoed, then things finally clicked in her head. She remembered the legal papers Sesshoumaru had tried to force her to sign a few weeks ago. The papers that would make her, Rin and Kanna his heirs in case something happened to him. The papers she had adamantly refused to sign scoffing that nothing could befall him, and that they would be married soon enough anyways.

_'The reason why he changed his wishes and took away the power of attorney from Inuyasha was that he was planning to give it to _me_. I should have signed those damn papers when he gave them to me… That idiot, why didn't he tell me about it?' _She could feel her heart bleed inside her breast, but was not planning on give up just yet. _'I probably wouldn't have listened even if he had… Why am I always so stubborn?' _Instead of focusing on her shortcomings, she decided to focus back on the issue at hand. _'I'll have all the time in the world to apologize to Sesshoumaru for not being more opened.'_

"Asuka won't let me see him because she doesn't believe Sesshoumaru is really planning on sharing his life with me, but she's wrong. As you know we both just legally adopted Rin. I can go downstairs and get Tenseiga from that old bat Totosai too… this will prove we're engaged as well."

"Yes of course this evidence would satisfy any judge, and you would be entitled to visit Sesshoumaru, but really it would be a waste of time." Myouga commented as he helped himself to a cookie. Kagura felt her heart pinch slightly. She and Kanna had baked those for Sesshoumaru only a few days ago. As much as he was not a fan of sweets; he had loved them.

_'Crazy how life changes so quickly…' _She thought sadly.

"I fail to see how that would be so." Morio frowned. He was now regretting Kagura's refusal to use _his_ lawyer. The lion youkai he employed might be young, but he made up for it with ruthlessness. This came in handy since the lawyer helped him not only keep his free clinic operating, but also allowed his son to work in the Fujibayashi family real estate organization.

"By the time we file a motion at the courthouse, get a judge to hear our case, and Asuka-sama's lawyer and previously mentioned judge to analyze our evidence, Sesshoumaru-sama will probably have woken up. If you want my opinion, you would be better off apologizing to Asuka-sama." Myouga wolfed down another cookie happily. Even though he knew what he said to be true, he did fail to mention the number one reason why he did not want Kagura to face off with Asuka in a courtroom: the identity of the inu youkai's lawyer: his very own wife Shouga.

_'The last thing I would want to do is have to showdown with her in a courtroom ever again.' _Just thinking of it caused the collar of his shirt to suddenly feel tighter.

"You want me to apologize to that bitc…" Kagura started, but her mother gave her hand a quick squeeze, reminding her of her manners. "…Asuka." She corrected herself.

"I can get started on the legal work if you really want me to, but you'd be better off trying to talk to her. I know firsthand that Asuka-sama can be quite… daunting, but she can be reasonable…" He lied through his teeth. He had been the one who had drafted the divorce papers between Sesshoumaru's parents, and the last adjective he would use when describing Asuka would be '_reasonable'_.

"Kagura." He mother called for her attention. "As much as you may not like to hear this, maybe the lawyer is right. Why don't you and I go talk to Sesshoumaru's mother?" Sakura reached up to tenderly brush her daughter's bangs out of her crimson eyes, which perfectly mirrored hers. She hoped that her cajoling tone and soothing caresses would be enough to convince Kagura of the best course of action.

"After the way she threw me out, you expect me to throw myself on my knees in front of her and beg?" The wind sorceress spit out angrily turning away from her mother's touch.

"Well yes… I mean no, not exactly. You should just try to… hum get her to see your side of things." Myouga gulped. The fact that Kagura was growing angrier was his cue to take his leave; the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with one more angry demoness; he got enough of that at home with his wife. "Now if you will excuse me, I will go back to my office, and get started on the paperwork you have asked. Thank you for the tea."

Just like that, Myouga made one of the quick getaways he was very famous for. All Morio, Sakura and Kagura could do was watch the front door slam behind the little flea.

"Now that was not very productive…" Morio scoffed. "All that we can do right now while he works on these legal documents is to go back to the hospital, and try to convince your future mother in-law to let you see Sesshoumaru."

"_We_" Sakura took to her feet, and smiled sweetly, a little too sweetly at her husband. He reacted by shuddering slightly. Nothing good ever happened when she had the particular smile. "Kagura and I will be paying Asuka a visit. You my dear husband will stay here to babysit your two granddaughters."

"Babysit?" Morio echoed surprisingly. "Honey you know I don't have a great touch with kids…"

"We raised two fine boys; you will be just fine." She took her daughter's hand, and dragged her to her feet before Kagura could form any kind of retort. "Kagura get your things, if we don't hurry along the visiting hours of the hospital will be over. Morio, honey I am sure you won't mind if we take your car." The wind sorceress was amazed at the resolve burning in her mother, and really did not see how she could refuse.

"Sakura…" The illusion demon started, but a glare from her crimson eyes stopped him. She picked up her designer clutch purse and picked up the keys to her husband's luxury car.

"Try to order something healthy for dinner for the girls. By healthy, I mean must contain some vegetables. Please don't just go to the nearest fast food place." The void youkai stood on the tip of her toes to press a quick peck to her husband's cheek, then headed straight for the door.

Everyone, including Kagura had been completely taken over by the whirlwind Sakura, and the young demoness had no choice but to blindly follow her mother, which really pleased the older youkai.

_'This time around, with me by her side, something tells me Asuka will have no choice but to give in. I will be damned if I let her keep my daughter from the man she loves.' _

* * *

Once Kagura and her mother had reached the front doors of the hospital, she had been afraid that the security guards would once again throw her out, but no one stopped their progression. The young woman seated at the reception desk even smiled at them as she gave them the floor and room number of Sesshoumaru's recovery room.

Considering how adamant her mother had been to accompany her at the hospital, Kagura was surprised when Sakura asked her to go talk to Asuka by herself first. The void demoness indeed elected to sit in one of the small resting areas in the recovery room. She had promised to come help her daughter if Kagura should need it.

Her mind set on her goal, the wind sorceress took a deep breath and knocked on the door of Sesshoumaru's hospital room; the thought that he was so near, yet so far tore at her heart. She was not surprised when the white door was thrown opened, and Asuka's golden eyes appeared in the small opening.

"You again. Do I have to call security once more?" The dog demoness opened the door enough to slip outside in the corridor without allowing Kagura to catch a glimpse of her fiancé.

"I came to speak to you…" Asuka interrupted Kagura's sentence by letting out a deep suffering sigh.

"Fine. I will listen, go ahead you have five minutes." Aiming to show she was serious, her amber eyes went down to quickly glance at her gold wrist watch.

"How is Sesshoumaru doing?" Kagura did not bother asking if he had awaken, if he had, he would have called her, and asked for her to be back at his side, where she belonged.

"He has yet to awaken, but his doctor had assured me he will soon. You only have four minutes left…" Asuka once again looked down at her watch.

Kagura took a breath, and started talking. She may not have a lot of time, but she would make the best possible use of it. "I did not come here to argue with you again. All I want is to see to Sesshoumaru's well being. I love him, and I want to be here for him."

"And you believe that is not what I intend to do? Do not dare deny it. You are just like Izayoi. You think I am a heartless woman, who cares nothing for her child, but you are wrong, I only want the best for Sesshoumaru, and this is exactly why I need to get him rid of you. He may believe himself in love with you now, but in the long run you will only drag him down." Asuka spared her watch one last glance before bringing back the full force of her hard amber glare to Kagura. "It seems you are out of time. I need to get back to my son. Now no need to be so dejected; I will have Jaken compensate you for your… efforts and the time you have spent with my son."

Kagura knew the other woman's last words were meant as an insult referring to her past and especially when she had been working for Naraku. She did not let it hurt her or affect her in any ways; getting angry at Asuka would be useless.

"What do I have to do? Do you want me to get on my knees and beg? Because I will. There is nothing I wouldn't do to be in that room with the man I love." She pointed a finger towards the closed white door in front of which Asuka was still standing guard. "I can assure you that when he wakes up he's never going to forgive you for preventing me from being with him."

"Is this a threat?" Asuka bristled. Even if she pretended not to be affected by Kagura's word, she did feel her heartbeat increase; she knew there might be some truth behind these words, but decided to ignore it nonetheless.

"No, it is the truth. Sesshoumaru has told me a lot about you, and let's just be honest you haven't been the best mom to him. But right now you have a chance to make it up to him…."

"How dare you judge me? You know nothing about me. All I have always wanted was for my son to be a better man than his father, and as I said you will bring him down… just like Izayoi did with did with _my _husband."

_'This is the second time she mentioned Izayoi.' _The wind sorceress noticed._ 'Anyways what does Asuka even mean by Izayoi and me bringing down Sesshoumaru or his father?... Does she see love as a weakness? Wouldn't surprise me, she is one cold bitch after all.' _Kagura thought to herself. She could not think of a way to make Asuka see reason. _'But I am not about to give up.'_

"I don't know what exactly is going on between you and Izayoi, and I don't really care. All I care about is Sesshoumaru, and you should too. If you cared about him as much as you claim you do, then you should do what is best for him. It may be hard for someone without a heart to understand..."

"I do not know why you are fighting me so strongly. Can you not see I am sparing you heartache in the long run?" Asuka sighed before staring straight in Kagura's confused crimson eyes. "My son is an ambitious man. He aims to take his advertising agency to a level higher than what his father accomplished. Do you not realize what this means?"

When she noticed that Kagura was truthfully puzzled, she decided to explain in more detail. "Have you ever heard the saying 'behind a strong man stands an even stronger woman'? This is exactly what Sesshoumaru will need in order to reach the top: a woman worldly, cultivated and gracious enough to help him in his quest. Not a hindrance or a street urchin who will confuse her dessert fork with the salad one when dining at the table of the prime minister." As if to emphasize her point, her delicate long fingers rose to play with an imaginary tendril of air

"No, what he will need is a woman with a spotless reputation, and the best connections. You are unfortunately sorely lacking in both of these departments, and right now he may be infatuated with you, but when Sesshoumaru will realize your shortcomings, and believe me he will, he will toss you aside."

Even though she knew there were some valid points in the other woman's words, Kagura knew that social standing was not the most important thing to her fiancé.

_'If Sesshoumaru really thought I could be a liability, he wouldn't have hired me as a secretary, nor would he have let Touran leak the story about my past as a prostitute to the press.' _Kagura quickly and easily put aside Asuka's words, but that did not make her less angry.

"Just because Sesshoumaru's father left you for another woman doesn't mean history will repeat itself." Kagura spat furiously. _'I can't help but think Sesshoumaru's father tossed her aside for a more "polished" version…'_

The way a muscle twitched in Asuka's jaw let Kagura know she had hit the nail right on the head.

"Is that what happened? Did the old man Takahashi decide that you were not good enough, and decided Izayoi would look better at his arm than you? She is one charming, classy lady, so it wouldn't surprise me." The older demoness's pretty manicured hand clenched into a fist.

"Don't you dare speak of what you know nothing about!" Asuka snarled. It was the first time Kagura saw her break her cold facial mask, but she decided not to be scared by the reaction provoked by her words.

"All the animosity you've been showing towards Izayoi makes sense now. You're obviously still not over the fact that he left you for her, and now you want to use me as a punching ball because you can't do anything about it. If you want to hurt me, go ahead and keep spitting spiteful words; I seriously can't care less what you think about me. But Sesshoumaru is your only son, not that you've really been a mother to him. I mean don't you think you've been using him enough to suck money out of his father and then Sesshoumaru himself?" Kagura had a feeling she would not be able to make Asuka see reason, and therefore decided to say her piece before leaving.

"I brought myself up in this world by my own strength. That pampered silver spoon fed home wrecker does not have anything over me! If someone here is a gold digger, it would be you. Any money I may have gotten from my ex-husband or my son is well deserved." Asuka suddenly interrupted herself. She was revealing to Kagura more about her life than she had ever to anyone else. She thought about stopping, but it felt good be able to talk to someone, even if it was someone she despised.

"Even before I met and married Taisho Takahashi I had risen above any expectation anyone might have had for me. I grew up poor. Poorer than you could even fathom." Asuka's eyes glazed over as she recalled her upbringing: her mother's lingering sickness and resulting death when she was barely out of preschool, her father's incapacity of dealing with the loss. He had loved her mother so much that he had let himself slip into despair then death. Asuka was sure that to the day she died, she would never forget the contented look on her father's face when he was lying on his deathbed. The idea of finally being reunited with his lost love even if in death took precedence over everything, even his very much alive teenage daughter.

'_The love they had for each other was simply pathetic. They could not live without each other, and stupidly believed that love would be enough for them to survive.' _Only thinking about that part of her past caused Asuka to clench her fists in anger; it was so easy for her to remember the awful feeling of not knowing when or where her next meal might be coming, which had become an expected occurrence especially while she had been living with her father after her mother's death. But to her relief and pride, these days were now far behind her. _'I've always known I was special, and deserved much more than the pitiful environment I was brought up in.'_

After she had become an orphan she had swore to herself a few things. The first had been never to fall in love. She would never cherish someone so much that losing him would cause her to suffer and crumble the way her father had after her mother passed away. She also decided that she would not die poor like her parents had. So she had worked hard, and carefully crafted herself a new persona. An orphan from a northern city, even going as far as to speak in a light accent, eons away from the rough speech she had bathed in since her mother's death.

She had also studied hard as it was to her a sure way to get out of a life of misery. She easily managed to earn a full scholarship to attend one of the country's top universities. Little had she known she would meet a man that would change her life there.

_'As much anger as I may still have towards Taisho, my life would not have been the same without him.' _She could still remember how dazzled she had been by the rich handsome dog demon, and before she realized all her dreams had been fulfilled. He took her around the world, lavished her with expensive gifts, and swore his undying love. Even though she had easily accepted the luxurious lifestyle he made possible to her, she had never returned his feelings, or love declarations.

_'Not that it was part of the contract. I was all he needed in a wife. Beautiful, well mannered, intelligent and I even gave him a son. But still I was not enough for him, and he fell for Izayoi.' _And so Asuka had decided to make him pay for his betrayal, literally. Her and her attorney Shouga had managed to get an exorbitant amount of money for child support, which had allowed her to keep the same lifestyle she had enjoyed when she was still the only Mrs. Takahashi. It of course included one of her favorite things, long cruises. They allowed her to travel with all the needed luxury while discovering far away countries. It had been when she had come back from a three weeks cruise in the Mediterranean Sea that she had been informed that she had lost custody of Sesshoumaru.

"So what because you had a crappy childhood you should be entitled to make everyone miserable?" Kagura's sharp question thrust Asuka out of her thoughts. "You're not the only who has had some pretty awful shit happen in her life. I've been through hell too, but I don't take it out on others." With these parting words, Kagura turned around, and headed towards where she knew her mother was waiting for her. She could only hope that Myouga would have a solution to her problem soon enough as Asuka had obviously no intention of being reasonable.

"Are you insinuating that you and I are similar?" Asuka's words halted the other woman's steps. Kagura turned around, and even if she was not sure she should, she decided to answer. '_Kagura is quite vocal… at least in this way we are indeed similar, but the similarities stop here.'_

"I am nothing like you. I may not know how exactly other than marrying Taisho Takahashi you have managed to get all the money you like flouting in people's faces, but I can assure you that all I have right now, I fought for, and got myself."

Kagura's eyes thinned when the other demoness scoffed. Undeterred, she resumed speaking. "The only reason why I am with your son is because I love him, not because I need him… at least not on a financial level. I'm putting myself through college right now. I may have won a scholarship, but am working two jobs as well so that I'm not a burden for Sesshoumaru…. I don't even know why I'm telling you all this, I owe you nothing."

The dog demoness ignored Kagura's last remark; she was too busy analyzing her own feelings. As much as she _really _hated it, she could not help but feel her heart thaw.

_'Maybe there is more to her than I thought…'_ Asuka thought before asking aloud. "Is this true? You better not be lying to me because I can assure you I will find out."

It was now Kagura's turn to scoff. "I don't see why exactly I would be lying to you right now… I'm proud of my accomplishments, and so is Sesshoumaru."

The fire of resolution burning brightly in Kagura's crimson eyes did not fail to impress Asuka. Then as she did not know what else to do while the other woman silently stared at her, Kagura squared her shoulders, and stood straighter. She was not about to let the older inu youkai know she intimidated her.

_'She seems to be quite a proud woman. It must have been hard for her to beg me earlier… must be because of this stupid 'love' she claims to feel for Sesshoumaru.' _Asuka thought to herself, a brief frown of disgust showing on her face.

"Kagura dear. You were taking too long, so I decided to come see what was keeping you." The wind sorceress turned around as her mother called out to her.

"Sakura? Sakura Fujibayashi?" Asuka said upon seeing the newcomer, clear shock written all over her face.

"Yes. I am sorry, have we met?" When Sakura walked forward enough to stand besides her daughter, Asuka was shocked to see the resemblance between the two; especially their similar crimson eyes.

"Why yes. It is me, Asuka Watanabe-Takahashi." She tried her best to keep her voice even; it would not do if she let her annoyance show. It was mind boggling to her to have someone forget about her. "We have a very good friend in common, Mrs. Sato. Last year the three of us served together on the committee putting together the mayor's wife charity ball." Asuka then said proudly. She would never miss an opportunity to tell people about her rich and famous connections.

Sakura slightly scrunched her face as she thought back to the said committee meetings. She had never been a fan of socializing with the upper crust of society, but knew it was a necessary part of being married to Morio. She would never do anything to jeopardize her husband's rightful place in society, so forced herself to fulfill any social functions.

"Yes of course, how could I forget? You were the one who found this delightful flower shop who did these amazing flower arrangements." Sakura had had a hard time remembering who the other woman was, but when she did is was not because of the flowers as she had claimed, but rather because she only knew of a few people who spoke as arrogantly as Asuka did.

"Yes indeed. Jean-Jacques, the head florist is from France, I met him during an extended stay in Paris. He is truly a genius, and we are all lucky that he has brought all his wonderful craft with him here. I always like to rely on foreigners. They may be more expensive, but their work is always so much more exquisite. What can I say? People such as you and I can only be content with the best of everything." Sakura forced herself to smile faintly as Asuka chuckled whole heartedly.

Eager to change the conversation away from a topic that really made her uncomfortable, Sakura quickly started talking.

"I see you have met my daughter. I can only hope you have put this whole misunderstanding behind you, and will allow her to be close to the man she loves." She quickly took her oldest child's hand in hers, and gave it a quick squeeze.

"She is your daughter?" The impeccably dressed dog demoness could feel her mouth open in shock, so forced herself to close it. A large dazzling smile suddenly found itself on her lips, displaying her sharp fangs. _'This changes everything!'_

"Kagura dear, why did you not say you were related to the Fujibayashis? Things would indeed have gone a little more smoothly." Kagura did not like the predatory look that appeared in Asuka's shiny amber eyes, and the suddenly oversweet tone of her voice made her gag.

"Yes. Kagura is my pride and joy. She is a remarkable young woman, no mother could ask for a better daughter. However I have not come here to speak of that." Sakura gently licked her dry lips. She hated confrontations. The last time she had had to tackle someone head on, it had been when she had revealed to Kagura that she was her mother.

'_I have caused Kagura so much pain when I have left her under Naraku's care. I could never make it up to her, but I can try to make her life as good as I can, and this includes getting her in that hospital room with Sesshoumaru.'_

Having gathered her strength, Sakura decided to speak. While Kagura had been exchanging heated words with Asuka, Sakura had been thinking long and hard for a situation to their problem, and something had occurred to her.

"Our children clearly love one another. I had the chance to meet your son, and he is a truly remarkable young man. I am… sure that Sesshoumaru will not be very… grateful to you for preventing his _fiancée _from spending time by his bedside when he most needed her." Even as it was spoken with a sweet voice, the threat in Sakura's words was clear: if she kept opposing Kagura, Asuka might anger her son.

The pale youkai's words resonated easily with the dog demoness. She could not help but wonder if Kagura's mother was right. What if when her son woke up he did not see the good of her actions. After all as much as Asuka hated to admit it, her son had proposed to Kagura. After much questioning, Jaken had even admitted as much.

_'I am not about to lose Sesshoumaru's support because of his unsuitable choice. Sakura may be right, if he finds out I stood in Kagura's way, he might try to take it out on me. God knows he has been acting most unsuitably as of late because of that woman.' _She thought back to the way her son had rebuked her during the memorial ceremony for having insulting Kagura, and knew that there was a great chance of this happening again once he found out about her part in keeping them apart while he lay in a coma.

'_Maybe a show of good faith towards Kagura might be in my best interest in the long run. It would endear her mother to me, which is something that would be very desirable. Her husband is a well known man in this city, and is extremely rich. Having wealthy, powerful and well connected friends is always a plus. Not to mention that when Sesshoumaru does wake up, there will be enough time to bring him back to his senses. Until they are actually married, I can still work to split him and that woman up. Her parents may be the Fujibayashis, but I am not certain this woman is deserving of my son.' _

"Whatever mom, let's just leave. She's not going to let me see Sessh, and I'd rather go home to the girls than waste my time here." Asuka could not quite put her finger on it, but there was something in Kagura's sentence that tickled her curiosity. She decided to ignore it, preferring to focus on the issue at hand: how to backtrack without losing face.

Even if she thought there might still be more to do, Sakura decided to relent for now. Nodding quickly towards Asuka as a parting gesture, she turned to leave, Kagura right behind her.

"Wait!" Asuka called. The two red eyes women stopped, and turned back towards her.

"I have decided to be magnanimous, and allow you to see my son." Kagura's eyes bulged out of her face in surprise at the words that left the mouth of Sesshoumaru's mother. Considering how the other woman had spent the last few minutes insulting and belittling her, she could not imagine why Asuka would suddenly change her mind.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Instead of relief, it was anger that predominated inside the wind sorceress. It was one thing for Asuka to mock her, that Kagura could handle, but toying with her feelings that was another thing entirely.

"Mind your language honey." Sakura gently scolded her daughter; considering that her younger sons had a tendency to have quite the potty mouth, this had become a natural reaction to her.

"As I just said I have decided to let you stay by his side… since Inuyasha is… family..." She spit out the last word as if it let an unpleasant taste in her mouth. "… I will let the doctors know you two, and only you two will be allowed to see him." Asuka said, then as she turned a smile towards Sakura she quickly added, remembering her earlier plan. "Of course Mrs. Fujibayashi you are free to come and stop by any time. I am sure my son would appreciate that."

"Please call me Sakura, we are practically family." She forced a smile. Her daughter would finally get what she wanted, and this was all that mattered.

It took a few seconds for the news to sink into Kagura, but when it did, she could not help but smile happily, full of relief. "I don't know what changed your mind, but it is much appreciated." She said as she thought _'I shouldn't let my guard down, something tells me that woman didn't just suddenly accept me in her family. She must be planning something… I may not know what it is, but for now, I'll just use it to my advantage. I have to go to Sesshoumaru, and see how he's doing, and so my best to ignore his mother.'_

"Now Kagura, why don't you go over and spend some time with Sesshoumaru? I will keep Asuka company." Sakura stated, giving her daughter a gentle shove towards the door. As she noticed that Asuka was going to protest, she decided to quickly intervene. "Tell me Asuka, have you received your invitation to the annual Winter Ball?" The Winter Ball was a major event in the social calendar. It marked the official beginning of winter, and only the most prominent members of the city were invited, which used to include Asuka when she had still been married to Taisho. Since their divorce, no matter how many favors she had tried to call in, or how much money she had been willing to spend, she had never been invited. Therefore only the mention of the exclusive yearly celebration was enough to make Asuka tremble in envy.

"Unfortunately I was doing a summer cruise in the Caribbean when the invitations were sent. It seems like my servants have misplaced it during my absence. You know how they are, if they are not stealing from you, they are misplacing things or breaking your antique vases. It has become quite hard to get good help these days."

As disgusted as she was by Asuka's words, Sakura forced a smile. She quickly deciphered what the other woman did not say: she had not been invited. And just like this, Sakura had found a way in.

"What a pity Asuka. I am a member of Mrs. Li's book club. This year she is in charge of inviting people, so I am sure that if I explain to her your difficult situation, she will be very understanding." Sakura may hate calling in favors, but she would, for her daughter's sake.

Noticing that said daughter was simply standing beside her, looking at her with surprise in her eyes. She gave Kagura a quick wink then gave with her hand pointed towards the door of Sesshoumaru's hospital room, silently telling her to go see him while she distracted his mother. After all she would not put it past Asuka to go back on her word; she really did not trust the other woman.

"Why don't we go grab a cup of tea? It would be more comfortable to have a discussion than this hallway." Asuka nodded her assent quickly. The prospect of finally attending the grand celebration made her quite forget about Kagura's presence.

"I know this fantastic little bakery not too far from here, shall we go?" Sakura smiled, and walked after the other demoness.

As they chatted and walked away, Kagura breathed a sigh of relief. _'If I had known I would have gotten mom to come distract the old dragon a long time ago.' _Even as she thought that, she decided to push away her thoughts of her newfound 'nemesis,' and focused her attention back to what or rather _who_ really mattered; Sesshoumaru.

Her heart beating loudly in her chest, Kagura pushed open the heavy white door, and stepped inside the hospital room. A sob escaped her lips once she spied the form of her lover. As she would have expected from Asuka Watanabe-Takahashi, she had placed her son in a spacious hospital recovery room. The headboard of his big bed was pushed against the white wall. On the other side of the room, mounted on the opposite wall was a huge flat screen television, which reminded Kagura of the one in the penthouse. Apart from the few medical machines arranged on either side of the bed, it was the only other electrical device. The only other pieces of furniture were an armchair next to the window, and a chair placed on the injured side of Sesshoumaru.

Kagura did not pay attention to the paintings on the wall; they were as insipid as the room. She rounded the bed, and headed for the chair. However instead of sitting on it, she leaned towards the bed. She silently observed her lover as she did her best to keep in her tears. He was lying on a brightly white sheet, his long silver hair messily covering the equally white pillow. His body was covered by a beige colored blanket, which only revealed his broad shoulders and part of his naked chest to her eyes. She slightly lifted the bedcovers to look at his left arm. His bicep and shoulder were tightly bandaged, so to her disappointment she could not assess for herself how serious his bullet wound was.

_'He looks like he's sleeping… I feel as though he could wake up any time.'_ She gently pressed a tender kiss to his lips. When he failed to respond to her gentle ministration, she finally broke down and allowed hot tears to pour down her cheeks. She kneeled by the bed, and gently cradled his larger left hand in hers. Not even the constant beep of the heart monitor indicating that the very still man was still alive offered her any comfort. She watched as one of her tears fell down on the pale skin of his hand.

"Please come back to us. Our daughters and I need you_." _Even if she spoke aloud, he did not answer, and this really broke her heart in a way that none of Asuka's mean and insulting words ever could.

**To be continued…**

A/N: So Kagura finally managed to get to be by Sesshoumaru's side. Will it be enough to help him? We shall see next time in **Worth Fighting For**.


	85. Worth Fighting For

_**Chapter 85: Worth Fighting For**_

A/N: Wow already 85 chapters! I'm glad to see you guys are still reading and enjoying! I know this is a much shorter filler chapter, which isn't really fair since I made you guys wait for a while, but I'll make it up to you big time with the next update *hint hint*.

Thanks for the reviews:

**Syzhale **

**BlackBurningHeart **

**SamiMacKenzie**

**xxLadySupreme**

**Little25Victor **(I agree Asuka has driven her husband away because of her behavior. She is a product of her past, and we will see if she will redeem herself… When it comes to the POA, Sesshoumaru being who he is never expected ending up at the hospital. He indeed should have explained things to Kagura, but he feared her taking things the wrong way like in the past.)

**Roguereader **(Indeed the Fujabayashis may be richer than Asuka, but behave quite more modestly. I'm glad you liked me adding them in the mix. When it comes to Sesshoumaru waking up, we'll see...)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'_I can't believe it's already been five days.' _Kagura sat back down on the seat which had been hers for the past four days and nights. The day after his surgery, Sesshoumaru had been moved to Suikotsu's small clinic, which had worked in Kagura's favor. Thanks to her mother's new friendship with Asuka, she had been granted complete and full access to Sesshoumaru's recovery room. She was there when Suikotsu and his nurses dressed his bandages, she was there when they changed his IV's and tubes, and she had even insisted on being the one to give him his sponge baths. On Suikotsu's orders, no one had dared refuse her.

For the past days she had only left the small room for small periods of time, and usually in the afternoon when Asuka came to look in on her son. Not wanting to be in the dog demoness's presence longer than was necessary, Kagura went back to the Fujibayashis' mansion in order to check in on Kanna and Rin, and to get changed and cleaned up. Her two daughters were staying with her mother as she did not allow them to see Sesshoumaru. It was hard enough for her to stand guard over his slumbering body, but the idea of Rin and Kanna experiencing this unending wait was just unbearable to her.

Five days had gone by and Sesshoumaru had not moved one bit. Kagura did her best not to think that soon it would be a week since she had last seen the beloved golden eyes of her fiancé. He was so still that she liked pretending he was merely sleeping, and often times spoke aloud to him. This morning was no different.

"Kanna is extremely excited of course. She's been driving my mother crazy with all the preparations. To think that her birthday party is only a week and a half away. Our little girl is growing so fast…" She felt tears rising again in her throat, but pushed them away. She had found out after the first night that tears would resolve nothing. At that time she had spent hours at Sesshoumaru's bedside, bathing his bedcovers with her salty tears, and despite all that he had yet to open his eyes.

"I'm sure you remember how eager she was about handcrafting and delivering the invites, well she's turned into a real little monster now when it comes to putting together a menu. She wants everything from Chinese dumplings from that restaurant you always take us to, to little apple tarts like the ones we baked for you a few weeks ago. " She briefly paused, remembering how much fun it had been to not only bake, but eat the pastries with her daughter and fiancé.

"I can only hope you'll be awake by then. Her party won't be the same without you, and Kanna won't let me buy her a present if you're not here to help me pick it. She wants a new mirror to replace the one Naraku shattered… she won't really talk about what happened when he took her, but I decided not to force her… I thought that maybe in time she'd open up." The wind sorceress looked up from her fine crocheting work to look back up to Sesshoumaru's still form. "I'd love to get your advice on it, but you can't talk to me... I don't even know if you can fucking hear me!" In a fit of anger she threw on the ground the pullover she had been knitting for Rin, and shot to her feet.

She took a deep breath to help calm herself down. "I'm sorry I didn't really mean that." She walked closer to him, and mindful of his bandaged arm, sat on the side of his bed.

"It's just so hard seeing you like this." She gently ran a hand through his long silver bangs. One of the nurses had wanted to cut his long locks in order to make them more manageable, but Kagura had completely refused. She was the one who carefully and painstakingly washed and combed his hair. Even if he pretended not to be a vain man, she knew how much he paid great attention to his appearance, and this included his hair.

'_When he wakes up, he certainly will not appreciate it if his beautiful hair was all chopped off.'_ She bent down to give him one last kiss before settling back on her seat, and resuming her knitting.

Little did she know someone had just been witnessed to the little scene.

* * *

_'I've failed not only Sesshoumaru, but Kagura and their children as well.' _Suikotsu walked away from the door Sesshoumaru's hospital room. He had come to check in on his most important patient, but had heard Kagura's words of despair by accident. Too ashamed to go face her, he staggered back in the hall.

_'I have done everything I could think of to treat Sesshoumaru, but his condition is stable yet unchanging…' _He once again ran through his mind the different procedures he had employed. First he had wanted to evaluate how deep Sesshoumaru's coma was, so made him go through a CAT scan, MRI and different pain responsiveness tests. While the tests showed Sesshoumaru was absolutely not responsive to pain or other stimuli, to his relief he had not noticed any kind of brain trauma or damage, but this had not been that helpful in treating his patient. Then following through on his earlier hunch about the mixing of Asuka's blood to Sesshoumaru's being the reason for his continuous coma, he had had the dog demon be put on an IV filled with some of Izayoi's recreated herbal tea. To the young doctor's disappointment, it had not yielded any results. He had hoped that the medicinal herbs would have helped dispel the buildup of toxins in Sesshoumaru's body, and therefore end his comatose state, but things had not worked out as he had planned.

_'There must be a way to get him out of that damn coma! I cannot be this useless!' _He felt strong scorching rage and hopelessness billowing inside him, wanting to take him over. He did his best to push his strong emotions down. Years earlier, when he was still a street thug, anger had been a powerful ally when dealing with other criminals, but now he had to be a cool collected doctor helping his patient and friend fight. Giving in to the dark feelings lurking in his mind and his blind rage would therefore not be helpful in any ways.

"Doctor Suikotsu?" A timid feminine voice asked behind him. It took him a while to shake off his dark demons, but when he had managed to get a complete handle back on his feelings, he turned around and was greeted by a pretty young woman. He watched her intently for a long time, completely taken over by her beauty.

"We haven't met before… but… you saved my mother, and I wanted to thank you." She blushed pure red and stammered her words. She suddenly grew very self-conscious. She did not know why the large imposing man was looking at her like this, but she was not sure she disliked it.

Noticing how much like a fool he must have looked staring at her silently for such a long period of time, he cleared his throat, and averted his dark gaze from her expressive eyes. "My apologies, I do not believe I caught your name."

"I am sorry, I didn't even introduce myself!" She blushed once again before bowing lowly in front of him. "My name is Mayumi Kaga. I am a… friend of Jakotsu and Bankotsu. You've saved my mother's life."

Suddenly he managed to place the young woman in front of him. "Yes of course Mrs. Kaga's daughter. I hope your mother did not have a relapse."

Sensing the genuine concern in his voice, she straightened and shaking her head dispelled his fears. "No not at all. She is doing much better. She believes she should be able to resume her job search soon enough."

"Good. Just remind her to take it easy." He smiled at her, causing her heart to flutter in an unusual fashion, then nodded in her direction. "If you'll excuse me, I have a patient to attend to."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to keep you, I just wanted to thank you, and maybe… ask if there's any way I could repay you. Jakotsu and Bankotsu wouldn't let me pay you, they're even paying for my mom's medication and now I'm working at their center too… They won't let me do anything else for them, but I figured maybe you wouldn't mind… I mean I just want a way to repay… so if there's anything I can do, let me know."

"There is no need for you to trouble yourself, helping your mother was my pleasure. Besides I owe a lot of favors to Jakotsu and Bankotsu, so it's all good."

"I'm not so useless. There must be something I could help you with! I really hate the feeling of being indebted to someone. I mean you just never know when they'll want to cash in a debt…" As she thought back to how her words sounded, Mayumi realized she may have inadvertently offended him, and quickly tried to backtrack. "Not that I think you would do that! You seem to be an honorable man."

What she did not know was that with a few innocent words, she had offered him with a possible solution, and Suikotsu had stopped paying attention to her.

_'This could work! _He_ of all people should figure out something. How come I never thought about it?' _The young doctor was so mad at himself, he could have kicked himself, not that it would have done any good.

"Thank you Mayumi, you've possibly just saved my patient's life." He chuckled before sending her a warm smile, which reduced her insides to goo. "Tell you what. Let's forget about this debt nonsense. You don't need to thank me, I'm the grateful one. I'll take you out to lunch."

"No really you shouldn't…" She tried protesting, but he stopped her by raising his hand.

"Wait don't move. Just stay right here." He fished his cell phone out of his pocket, and quickly browsed through his list of contacts before pressing the dial button. After a few rings he was relieved when the person on the other line picked up.

"I want to cash in your debt, how soon can you be in town?" The young doctor said quickly, the other man was after all not famous for his patience.

After a quick pause a croaking voice came out of the cell phone. "Debt or not, I don't come cheap…" He reminded his friend.

Suikotsu repressed an impatient groan, and answered the question. "Yes don't worry, you'll be paid handsomely."

"Alright then, expect me in two days. Should I bring all my _stuff_?" He asked, even as he suspected the answer. No one knew better than him that if Suikotsu had called him in, then things had to be pretty bad.

"Yes."

"See you in two days then." Without any kind of parting words, the other man hung up the phone.

"Dr. Suikotsu?" Mayumi called for his attention.

"Please just Suikotsu." He smiled at her then before she had time to protest, happily linked his arm with hers, and headed towards the exit. "Now about this lunch date, do you have any food preferences?"

Mayumi thought about refusing, but the sweet and comforting heat of his body against hers killed every word of protest she could have ever uttered.

_'When was the last time a man touched me without hurting me, or paying for me?' _ She wondered feeling old and jaded beyond her years. _'I believe I deserve some fun, and this doctor is so handsome!' _

Having resolved her inner turmoil, she smiled back at him and answered easily "I love Korean food."

"Me too!" He exclaimed. "A match made in heaven." He chuckled, and despite her previous reluctance she did as well.

* * *

Kagura briefly allowed her eyes to close. She burrowed her back deeper into the hard cushion of the armchair, and hiked the soft bed sheet she used as a blanket higher on her shoulders. She waited for sleep to come, and hoped it would come soon. She figured she was entitled to a little rest since she had just had to share Sesshoumaru's bedroom with his mother. During her thirty minutes visit the older demoness had done her best to berate and mock Kagura as covertly as possible. Insulting her outright was not an option anymore simply because of the identity of her mother. At least Kagura knew she would not be coming back that evening since her mother was taking Asuka to a fancy dinner party.

The wind sorceress was jolted awake when someone knocked loudly at the door. She groaned as she _really _needed a nap, but still stood up to answer. Since her mother, Inuyasha and Asuka had already stopped by earlier, she really had no idea who else could be visiting Sesshoumaru.

"Byakuya?" Kagura gasped upon spying her younger half brother. He grinned broadly at her in response.

"I'm not here for long. I just wanted to stop by and see how you're doing, and mom also asked me to bring these over." He hoisted a huge bag in front of her eyes. Before she could ask aloud the question he could see in her eyes, he answered. "It's pillows and bed stuff. She told me that since you're set on sleeping in an armchair, the least you could do is be comfy… She meant to bring them earlier today, but didn't get a chance to."

Before Kagura could gently refuse her mother's gift, Byakuya walked forward. Since she did not want to get run down by him, she had no choice but to step aside. He seized the opportunity and entered Sesshoumaru's recovery room. As soon as he saw the dog demon's still comatose body, he felt his heart clench.

"How did you stand being here the whole day for an entire week? Don't you want to at least come to the mansion to sleep at night?"

"Mom suggested it, but my place is here. Sesshoumaru needs me, and that's that." She walked towards the bed, and briefly looked at her beloved before turning once again towards her brother.

Byakuya fixed his crimson eyes on his sister. She looked completely exhausted to him. While Naraku had kidnapped Kanna, he had seen a tired Kagura, but now she looked drained enough to collapse. Her eyes were red rimmed, and had heavy purplish-black circles under them.

_'How can someone waste away so fast in just a week?' _He thought grimly. _'She even looks like she lost weight. This is surprising because I know she's been eating.'_ He felt his cheeks slightly warm up at the discovery he had made two days ago.

"You really do love him… I wonder if I'd be as devoted as you are." The young man handed his large bag over to Kagura. She took it gratefully, and started going through its contents.

"You've never been in love before I take it." She commented before replacing the sheet she had been using as a blanket for a soft woolen cover her mother had packed for her. She also placed the small fluffy pillows against the back of the armchair, knowing it would make the piece of furniture much more comfortable.

"I've always been more of a one night stand kind of guy… Guess I'm just waiting for the right person to come along." He shrugged as he watched his sister improve her seat.

"Love is a funny thing. I thought I loved a man once, but he betrayed me…" Her heart still burned in anger when she thought back to Shinichi and the pain he had inflicted on Kagura and Kanna. "Falling in love with Sesshoumaru was completely unexpected; I never even anticipated meeting someone like him, but fate… or rather Inuyasha and Miroku threw us together by accident. Don't lose faith Byakuya, you might find yourself saddled up with the love of your life before you know it." A slight smile danced on her lips when she recalled her first meeting with Sesshoumaru when she had been employed by his half brother and friend as an escort.

_'We've certainly come a long way.' _She gently rubbed her tired eyes, hoping it would help her chase away some of her fatigue.

"Well I can tell you're tired, so I'll leave for now. Although I do have a little favor to ask of you…"

Kagura could not help but chuckle slightly. "I knew there had to be a reason why you volunteered to bring this stuff for me. Go ahead and ask." She sank down in her usual seat, and was amazed to see how much the feathery pillows and soft covers her mother had sent to her were making a huge improvement to her comfort.

"Yesterday when I came to pick up mom, on my way over I ran into a young woman… I didn't catch her name, but I believe she was a tiger demoness. We had a little conversation, but she was late so we did not get a chance to exchange contact information…so I was wondering if maybe you could, you know…"

Kagura knew exactly who her brother was referring to, but seeing him squirm was a great source of amusement and distraction, which she could really use at the moment.

"I'm not sure I know who you're talking about…" She lied effortlessly even as she thought. _'Now that is an interesting development I had never imagined could happen.'_

"She's just a little bit shorter than you, and she's got an amazing body…" Seeing Kagura raise an eyebrow, he quickly added "and the cutest smile ever."

"Maybe if you told me what other than her 'amazing body' interested you in her, my memory might get jogged or something…"

Byakuya frowned slightly, he knew his sister was toying with him, but he had no other choice, but to take it for now. His plan had miserably failed. He had hoped his mention of the young woman would be casual enough, and that Kagura would not suspect his true feelings.

"Well it's a funny story actually. She must have met that boss of yours, Jakotsu because she thought I was his boyfriend. Can you believe she thought I was gay?" Not wanting to offend her brother, Kagura did not say anything. She did however briefly glance down at the skin tight jeans he was wearing, and the light shade of red lipstick adorning his mouth.

"Oh come on, not you too!" He groaned truly annoyed. "Just because I love fashion, and I have an edgy style doesn't mean I love men as well! I do love gay people though, they make for great business. Ever since I revamped my style, I've been attracting younger customers for my real estate company, and many of them happen to be gay. The gay scene in this city has been booming, and more and more people are coming over here looking for a more accepting place to live." He knew he was pouting, but Byakuya did his best not to let Kagura's words truly get to him. She was not the first nor the last person making that mistake. Plus getting mad at his new found sister at such a hard time for her would be awful.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to make fun of you. I've just been tired lately." She let out a sigh before answering his question. "Her name is Ai Yamamoto. I work part time at her parents' restaurant. She brings food over to me every day at noon for lunch. She's a nice girl, and before you ask, yes she's single, and is looking for love. I'd be careful not to hurt her feelings though, her dad Kenji is one mean tiger… so unless you want to get past your one night stand days, let her be."

"Not to worry, I know what I'm doing. Well I've got to go for now, but I'll stop by tomorrow." The young man walked over to Kagura then pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "Stay strong, he's bound to get better soon." With a final wink, Byakuya left the room. On his way out he only briefly gave Sesshoumaru, and felt a shiver of unease run down his spine. _'I don't know how she can really stand to be alone in here with him for hours. I guess people are really willing to do anything for love…' _

After her brother's lithe form had disappeared behind the white door, Kagura went towards the window sill. It was adorned with two potted plants. The first one had been a get well present from Tanuki and Sondai. Kagura was not sure how exactly the raccoon demon and his boisterous girlfriend had found out that Sesshoumaru was in the hospital, but she had been very touched by their warm wishes. The second flower pot had been brought over by Sesshoumaru's secretary Kiriko the day the dog demon had been moved to Suikotsu's clinic. The young inu youkai had assured Kagura that she, Miroku and Inuyasha were taking care of everything at the Takahashi agency, which had truly relieved her. No one knew better than Kagura how much his business meant to Sesshoumaru, and the last thing she wanted to happen was for his agency to suffer while he was hospitalized.

She watered the two plants with the small water bottle she had placed next to them for that use before going back to her seat. She settled back against the pillows, and pulled the blanket over herself. This time around she really intended to get her much deserved rest. Even as she tried to fall asleep, she could not help smile faintly at the apparently budding relationship between her half brother Byakuya and friend Ai.

"Who would have ever thought we'd play matchmakers in such a way. Next thing you know Byakuya and Ai will be getting married. Sesshoumaru, you and I better be in the wedding party, or I'll be greatly offended." Still smiling, she closed her eyes and tried her best to fall asleep. When another knock was heard at the door, she groaned, but nonetheless went to answer the door.

"Maybe thanks to all this ruckus you'll wake up." She muttered under her breath in the direction of her unresponsive fiancé.

When the wind sorceress opened the door, she was surprised to see Suikotsu; he had come in earlier to check in on Sesshoumaru's arm, which he had declared as being fully healed, and she therefore had not expected to see him that afternoon. However what surprised her the most was that he had a small unknown man dressed in all white standing next to him. The most distinctive and startling feature on the stranger were his big bulging and sagging eyes. The rest of his face was covered by a piece of white cloth, which surprised her even more.

"Good evening Kagura, I just came in to introduce you to a good friend of Bankotsu, Jakotsu and I. This is Mukotsu, a former… associate of ours." The tall dark haired and handsome doctor then turned towards the much shorter man. "Mukotsu, this is Kagura, the fiancée of the patient I mentioned earlier."

"Hello… nice to meet you." An uncertain Kagura blurted. She trusted Suikotsu implicitly even if she had no idea what he was planning.

"Yeah yeah, I have no time for pleasantries." Mukotsu's words came out muffled as he did not bother with removing the cloth from his face. Before Kagura could protest, he stepped past her inside the room, and headed straight for Sesshoumaru's bedside. He flicked out a small blade from inside his robe and lifted the blanket to prickle Sesshoumaru's uninjured arm with it. Before the wound had a chance to close up, he brought the bloody tip of the metal under the veil to his lips.

"What is he doing?" The wind sorceress gasped in utter shock. She was not sure what to say or do, and was too stunned to do anything anyways.

"So Mukotsu, what is your verdict?" A nonplused Suikotsu asked.

After a loud lip smacking sound, the shorter man removed the cloth from his face and revealed what Kagura mentally thought to be the most hideous and swollen face she had ever seen. When she had met Jaken, Sesshoumaru's small green servant, she had been sure that she had met the ugliest being alive, but in her eyes Mukotsu had just won the contest.

"He definitely has too much toxin in his blood." The short ugly man spat on the carpeted floor, not even caring that he was behaving disgustingly.

"I don't understand what just happened, or what the hell he is doing here." Even if she was talking about Mukotsu, it was towards Suikotsu that Kagura turned in search for an answer.

"My friend Mukotsu is a poison master. If he is unable to save Sesshoumaru's life, then no one will." Suikotsu'swords resonated ominously around the small hospital room.

**To be continued…**

A/N: A lightly abrupt ending, sorry. Love is in the air (at least for secondary characters) and Mukotsu has come to save our Sesshoumaru? Will he succeed? We shall see next time in **Elixir of Life. **The story is almost over, but there's still a little bit of drama ahead, so until next time!


	86. Elixir of Life

_**Chapter 86: Elixir of Life**_

A/N: Longer chapter alert! The end is almost upon us. Let's see how Sesshy is doing this time around.

Less reviews this time around, but something tells me that after this chapter you guys will have lots to say lol. Thanks for the reviews:

**Syzhale **

**BlackBurningHeart **

**SamiMacKenzie**

**Anonymous **(Ah ha no, these three will be the only other Band of seven members which will make an appearance in the story. I do like to spread the love bug around, and Suikotsu and Byakuya seemed to be in need of some lovin')

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Good evening Kagura, I just came in to introduce you to a good friend of Bankotsu, Jakotsu and I. This is Mukotsu, a former… associate of ours." The tall dark haired and handsome doctor then turned towards the much shorter man. "Mukotsu, this is Kagura, the fiancée of the patient I mentioned earlier."_

_ "Hello… nice to meet you." An uncertain Kagura blurted. She trusted Suikotsu implicitly even if she had no idea what he was planning._

_ "Yeah yeah, I have no time for pleasantries." Mukotsu's words came out muffled as he did not bother with removing the cloth from his face. Before Kagura could protest, he stepped past her inside the room, and headed straight for Sesshoumaru's bedside. He flicked out a small blade from inside his robe and lifted the blanket to prickle Sesshoumaru's uninjured arm with it. Before the wound had a chance to close up, he brought the bloody tip of the metal under the veil to his lips._

_ "What is he doing?" The wind sorceress gasped in utter shock. She was not sure what to say or do, and was too stunned to do anything anyways._

_ "So Mukotsu, what is your verdict?" A nonplused Suikotsu asked._

_After a loud lip smacking sound, the shorter man removed the cloth from his face and revealed what Kagura mentally thought to be the most hideous and swollen face she had ever seen. When she had met Jaken, Sesshoumaru's small green servant, she had been sure that she had met the ugliest being alive, but in her eyes Mukotsu had just won the contest._

_ "He definitely has too much toxin in his blood." The short ugly man spat on the carpeted floor, not even caring that he was behaving disgustingly._

_ "I don't understand what just happened, or what the hell he is doing here." Even if she was talking about Mukotsu, it was towards Suikotsu that Kagura turned in search for an answer._

_ "My friend Mukotsu is a poison master. If he is unable to save Sesshoumaru's life, then no one will." Suikotsu's words resonated ominously around the small hospital room._

"You… you think he can help Sesshoumaru?" Kagura gasped. She thought to herself that as ugly as Mukotsu may be, if he indeed managed to get Sesshoumaru out of his coma, she would readily kiss him.

"I am fairly certain it is the buildup of toxins in his blood that is keeping him in a coma." Mukotsu explained before thoughtfully bringing the small bloody blade to his nose, and inhaling Sesshoumaru's blood. "Clearing such strong poisonous toxins from his blood will not be easy..."

"Will you be able to come up with an antidote?" Suikotsu questioned his friend.

He had called in a favor to make Mukotsu, who had become quite a recluse since they had been released from jail, come all the way to the city in order to try to help Sesshoumaru, and all the young doctor hoped for was that the other man would be able to save his young patient. Not long after their Band of Seven had been released from jail, Mukotsu, who had not always been able to control himself when in the presence of young beautiful women had found himself in trouble. A young miko he had been infatuated with had not taken his marriage proposal and kidnapping/stalking lightly. After Suikotsu had sorted out the legal mess, Mukotsu had decided to exile himself to a mountain cave where he was able to practice his poison and antidote making craft without being disturbed by anyone.

It was the delightful Mayumi who had reminded Suikotsu of the debt Mukotsu owed him for having helped him out. Only thinking about the beautiful young demoness caused him to slightly smile. To his own surprise in the last two days they had been seeing quite a bit of each other for which Suikotsu was more than grateful. She had given him a much needed boost in confidence, and to his surprise even helped him be in better control of his ever present inner demons. One look at her shy sweet smile, and he was convinced he was the best doctor and strongest man who had ever lived.

"It will not be cheap…" The small pudgy man reminded his former associate.

"Money is not an issue." Kagura stated. Assuring her lover's recovery she knew would take precedence over anything in the eyes of everyone. She may not have access to Sesshoumaru's bank accounts, which she knew to be quite full, but she knew Inuyasha, Asuka and even her own parents would be more than willing to contribute money as long as it would help Sesshoumaru.

"In that case, I can start work right away. I will need a lab…"

"I have already made preparations." The young doctor informed his former Band of Seven associate. "I hope you brought your herbs with you."

Without answering, Mukotsu gently tapped the white backpack strapped around his back.

"Fantastic. Let me show you the space I have prepared. Be sure to tell me if there is anything you will need." Suikotsu headed towards the door. He wanted Mukotsu to start working immediately. Kagura and her daughters had waited long enough to be reunited with Sesshoumaru.

The young doctor was not the only one eager for the poison master to start working. Mukotsu was a man who loved challenges; especially when it came to creating poisons, or as in this case antidotes. The prospect of working on a very rare poisonous inu youkai made his blood sing in anticipation. Since he was human, it was not often that demons required his help, or even agreed to let him help them. He therefore intended to take full advantage of the opportunity given to him. He was going to help Sesshoumaru, fulfill his promise to Suikotsu, but above all else further his knowledge of the inner workings of youkai. The latter was the thing that mattered the most to him. Just thinking about it made him want to start working immediately.

"The sample I tasted might not be enough for me to work on. I will require a greater quantity of his blood in order to analyze it in more detail." Mukotsu tried thinking back to the acrid, acidic taste of Sesshoumaru's blood, and what he could use to help dissolve the excess toxins.

"I will arrange for one of my nurses to bring you some of Sesshoumaru's blood." Mukotsu nodded happily at his friend's answer. He did not protest when Suikotsu then gently steered him towards the door; he had work to do.

Kagura wondered if she should say something, or thank Mukotsu as she watched the two men exit her fiancé's hospital room. In the end the two left, and she did not say anything.

She sighed deeply. Her previous tiredness was now forgotten. For the first time since Kanna had been adducted, she finally saw the light at the end of the very dark tunnel she had been stuck in.

"He will help you come back to me." She stated as she walked towards her slumbering lover. As careful as ever she sat next to his uninjured arm on the bed, and leaned towards his beautiful face. "I know he will." She brushed some of his silver bangs out of his closed eyes to reveal the blue crescent that adorned the creamy pale skin of his forehead. She leaned forward and pressed a light kiss on his soft skin.

* * *

"Absolutely not!"

Kagura rolled her eyes at Asuka's shout. The wind sorceress had spent another dreadful night. Ever since Suikotsu had brought Mukotsu on board, she had been too excited to sleep properly. She kept expecting to hear from the short human as she was convinced he would have been able to save her lover. However to her disappointment for the past forty eight hours the ugly human had stayed locked inside the lab Suikotsu had accommodated for him.

Sesshoumaru's personal physician had at least taken the time to come see Kagura, but even he had no idea what Mukotsu was concocting in his lab. She had been disappointed that he had no words of comfort for her. And now even as she patiently sat in her seat, knitting the afternoon away, she had found something even more to annoy her: Asuka. The second the older demoness had been appraised of Suikotsu's plan, she had rushed to the clinic, eager to let _everyone_, and especially Kagura, know of her discontent.

"I will not let you poison my son!" At seeing how angry Asuka was, Kagura was surprised her mother in law had not started frothing at the mouth. That at least would have been an interesting enough sight that could help her get over her present irritation. She was tired, cranky and the idea of Asuka giving her a reason to snap at her, or better yet fight with her was not really something she was looking forward to. Usually she knew she would be able to stand her own against her mother in law, but at the moment she was suffering from lack of sleep and was extremely short tempered.

_'There's no need to get angry at her right now. I need to think positively for Sesshoumaru. The last thing he needs right now is for me and Asuka to start screaming over his body…' _The wind sorceress thought to herself as she forced herself to focus all her anger in moving the knitting needles in her hands faster.

Noticing that she had not managed to get Kagura's attention, Asuka's anger grew. If there was one thing she hated above else, it was having people ignore her, which was exactly what the wind sorceress was doing. The younger demoness had resumed working on the orange pullover she had started knitting for Rin. She was sitting by her lover's bedside, her fingers working diligently as she did her best not to react to Asuka spitting venomous words in her direction.

_'Where is mom when I need her?' _Kagura wondered. She was sure that if anyone would be able to make Asuka understand that Mukotsu, as ugly, creepy and disrespectful as he may be, was Sesshoumaru's best shot at recovery at the moment, it would be her Sakura Fujibayashi.

"Do not pretend you did not hear what I said." The dog demoness snarled. The fact that Kagura was still ignoring her was grating her nerves raw. She wished she could once again throw the young woman out of the room, and out of her son's life, but Kagura's attachment to the Fujibayashi prevented her from doing so. Only remembering the dazzling and exquisite dinner party she had attended with Sakura the night before made her slightly relax her clenched fist.

"My ears function properly, so I have heard you." Kagura shrugged off Asuka's glare. She reached down in the basket at her feet, looking for a different colored yarn in order to put flowers on the pullover she was making for Rin. Since winter was fast approaching, the wind sorceress had decided to make use of the time she was spending by Sesshoumaru's side, and was knitting for their daughters. She had already made both Kanna and Rin a set of scarves and gloves, which they had both loved, and was now working on a pullover for her eldest child.

Kagura's impertinent tone managed to make Asuka forget about her earlier resolution to calm down.

_'I have had enough of that bitch! It does not matter who her mother might be anymore. Sesshoumaru has to come first, and I will not let her kill him. It is already because of her that my son is in this hospital bed.' _

"You might have forgotten, but it is only because I have _allowed_ you to be by Sesshoumaru's side that you have been allowed here."

"Yes, I know. Have I and my mother not thanked you enough?" Asuka's dark read lips spread in a cruel grin upon hearing Kagura's words.

"Are your words going to bring me my son back?"

Kagura halted her knitting needles. She almost snapped back at Asuka, but decided against it. She could tell where the older demoness's words were coming from; pain and fear. Two emotions she had been very familiar with as of late.

"No." She averted her crimson gaze from the mass of orange yarn draped over her knees to look up at the fuming woman. "I am aware that you're angry. I am too. However I am not about to give up on Sesshoumaru. This is why I believe in Mukotsu, I am sure…"

"As if a pitiful _human _who believes himself to be knowledgeable about poison could help a powerful demon like my son. This whole farce has gone on for too long. I have allowed my son to be transferred to this pathetic clinic only because I know he seems to care for Suikotsu…" She paused thoughtfully. "Although I do not know why he allows that former _human criminal_ to treat him…"

The door of Sesshoumaru's hospital room was thrown opened, and a red clad figure walked in.

"Well a hello to you too Inuyasha." Never had Kagura been gladder to see the hanyou. She really hoped that he would prove to be a buffer between her and Asuka.

"Keh! What's this about some poison guy making some magic potion for the old bastard to wake up?"

Kagura decided to ignore Inuyasha's disrespectful words towards her fiancé.

"Mukotsu is a friend of Suikotsu and from what I've heard, an accomplished poison master. I'm convinced he can make an antidote to help Sesshoumaru." Kagura answered lightly. Only thinking about the moment Sesshoumaru would wake up made her heart feel lighter.

"Sounds to me like a load of bullshit." He countered, crossing his arms over his bright red dress shirt.

Asuka had been angered enough by Kagura's refusal of listening to her, and the young woman's decision to go along with Suikotsu's plan, and the appearance of Inuyasha was not helping matters at all. However when she noticed he sounded dubious about what she deemed to be Suikotsu's harebrained plan, she perked up. She believed that strength was in numbers after all.

_'Not to mention that he could finally make himself useful. If he takes the blame for sending away that doctor's friend, then my relationship with the Fujibayashis will not be affected.' _The older dog demoness did her best to mask her triumphant smile.

"Inuyasha, for once we find ourselves in agreement." Asuka smiled icily towards Kagura. "I have tried to let Kagura know how ridiculous this idea may be. I really do not think we should rely on some quack to save your dear _brother_…" The last word had almost stuck in her throat, but she was proud to have managed to let it out.

Inuyasha felt a shiver of unease run down his spine. _Never _had Asuka been this charming, respectful or accepting towards him, and it freaked him out.

_'She's definitely up to something…'_ The half dog demon could not shake the feeling that his half brother's mother was trying to use him in some way. He scowled as he gently scratched the back of one of his twitching left ear with sharp claws.

"Feh! It's not like we've got anything to lose. Knowing Sesshoumaru, he'd want us to give it a try. Besides he trusts Suikotsu…"

Upon hearing Inuyasha's words, Asuka was not happy. Not happy at all. She realized that she had just lost a potential ally.

"That was exactly what I thought. It's worth a shot… besides I doubt things could get worse." Kagura chanced a brief glance towards Sesshoumaru's unmoving form.

"Everything now makes sense to me." Asuka murmured words caught Kagura's attention. Seeing how the inu youkai's plan had been thwarted, the wind sorceress had expected for the other woman to start screaming at her. The way in which she appeared calm and in control lead Kagura to believe that something was up, and it would not be something good.

"The only reason you are interested in my son is his money. It would be in your interest if he died. I now see that this is what you want. For him to die!" Asuka let out a humorless chuckle. "As soon as you have gotten rid of Sesshoumaru, then that human child you have pushed him to adopt with you would be his only heir, and you as its mother would be able to enjoy Sesshoumaru's money!" Realizing she was shouting in a manner fitting for a fishmonger wife, and not a woman as refined and sophisticated as her, the older demoness lowered her voice before speaking again.

'_I cannot stand back and let them _kill_ my son!' _Asuka clenched her right hand in a fist, hoping it would help her control her raging emotions.

"If you insist on trying to poison my only child, then I have no choice but to remove your disgusting influence on him. I have tried tolerating you; however, I have now come to realize that in your case, inconveniences far outweigh benefits. I will have you thrown out of here for good."

Kagura had reached her limit. She was about to refute all of Asuka's ludicrous claims, but she never got the chance.

"Oh for fucks sake!" Inuyasha's loud expletive was enough to shock Asuka into  
silence. "How can someone be so stupid? If she was only in it for the money, do you think she would have stood by his side like that all day all this time. Even you can't stand to be in this damn room for more than an hour. What are you even doing here? Don't you have another party or gala to go to?"

Asuka pinched her lips. There was truth in Inuyasha's words. She may have _really _enjoyed mingling with the city's rich and famous while attending dinner parties and galas with Sakura and Morio Fujibayashi, but most of all it was a great way for her to distract her mind from the fact that her son was lying in a coma. She indeed found being in Sesshoumaru's hospital room nerve wracking. Unlike Kagura, she did not speak to her son as she did not believe he could hear her; not to mention that speaking aloud to an obviously sleeping person seemed completely ludicrous to her. A few minutes every day, or sometimes every other day was all she could stand to see her son. If she spent more time in his presence she felt edgy. However since Asuka was not about to admit to Inuyasha and Kagura of all people that she felt scared, angry and frustrated, she decided to mask her true emotions with outrage and furiousness.

"How dare speak to me this way, you disgrace? What makes you think that you of all people can presume to judge me? From the moment you were born, you were a stain upon the Takahashi name. The only reason I have tolerated you all these years was Sesshoumaru's misplaced affection for you…"

Kagura discarded her knitting before jumping to her feet. "You're the one who's being a disgrace to Sesshoumaru. How he could have come from your body, I will never understand. Ever since he's been in a coma, I have done my best to get along with you for his sake, but I don't even care anymore. You can insult me all you like, but I won't let you doubt my love for Sesshoumaru, or try to insinuate that I'm trying to use Rin to get to his bank account." Kagura let out a deep sigh; it felt so good to be finally liberated!

_'It is so ironic that even if the one thing I have always refused to take from Sesshoumaru is his money, his mother doesn't believe me.' _The exasperated wind sorceress thought. Because of Sesshoumaru's condition, her nerves were raw, and the situation with Asuka was not helping matters at all. Now that she was presented with an opportunity to vent, and she was not about to let it pass.

"Oh and Asuka, one more thing. Inuyasha is an important part of _our _family, and both Sesshoumaru and I care a lot about him." Inuyasha was warmed over by Kagura's fierce defense, but Asuka's insults had never affected him in the past, and that was not about to change now.

"Keh! I really don't get why you're trying to keep these two apart; any idiot could see they love each other…" Inuyasha interjected before Asuka opened her mouth to retort.

"When your opinion will be required, it will be called upon." The snappy tone used by his half brother's mother caused Inuyasha to snicker and let out a loud "Feh!"

Kagura had had enough of Asuka belittling both her and Inuyasha; especially when they had more important things to deal with such as her fiancé's recovery, and the antidote she was hoping Mukotsu was concocting. In a frustrated gesture, she rubbed the skin under her black bangs with two fingers; she could feel a headache coming as well.

_'As things stand right now, even if he manages to make an antidote, I don't know if we'll be able to give it to Sesshoumaru. His mother will oppose it… and as much as I hate it, we need her damn consent before administering the medicine. There must be some way to make things work…' _The crimson eyed demoness was surprised when an unusual idea suddenly came to her.

_'It may be crazy, but it might just work.' _She thought to herself before speaking aloud. "Asuka." Kagura using her name immediately caught the attention of the dog demoness.

"What?" Had she not been wearing a tailored cream colored designer pantsuit, Kagura would have said the other woman had just barked at her, which considering she was an inu youkai should not have been that surprising.

"I will make a deal with you." Asuka arched her eyebrow in response to Kagura's words, causing the nervousness of the latter to grow. Trying to give herself more confidence, she moistened her lower lip with the tip of her tongue before speaking. "If Mukotsu fails with his antidote… I will leave."

"What?" Instead of Asuka, it was Inuyasha who screamed.

Asuka was slightly surprised by Kagura's sudden proposal, but her shock was quickly overcome by pure delight and relief. She did not hesitate one second before clamoring "I accept!"

One thing Asuka Watanabe-Takahashi had learned early on in life was to always take advantage of every opportunities offered. This was how she had managed to leave behind a life of poverty, and ascend to the place she now had in society. Right now she was not about to let what she deemed to be a golden opportunity to pass her by.

_'This will be the perfect chance to get rid of Kagura once and for all. Of course allowing that disgusting so called potion master to pump some potion into Sesshoumaru's body may be undesirable, but I am sure he will be able to withstand it. He is a pure breed inu youkai, and my son; he will be just fine.'_ She smiled happily to herself. _'Things are finally working my way!' _

"I will go in search of that incompetent human doctor my son seems to like so much, and see if that friend of his has made any progress." Now that she had found a way to get rid of Kagura, the dog demoness was very eager to help things move along. Asuka walked towards the door then briefly paused to throw some words of warning to Kagura over her shoulder. "Be sure to remember your promise; I will hold you to it."

Before the wind sorceress had a chance to say anything in return, her 'mother in-law' left the hospital room.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Inuyasha crossed the room to stand right in front of Kagura. He was tempted to grab her by the shoulders, and shake her hard in the hopes that she would regain her sense. The deep scowl darkening his face would have scared off anyone with a lack of a backbone; lucky for Kagura, this was not her case.

"Sesshoumaru making a full recovery is the most important thing to me right now. I would do anything to make sure he gets better, and I really think Mukotsu's potion will help…"

"Feh! I know that, but it doesn't mean you have to give up your relationship!"

Kagura sighed in exasperation. "I know that! You may not have thought about it, but in order to give Sesshoumaru the antidote, we will need Asuka's consent. After all she is legally still the one in charge of him. The only way I could think of to get her to agree was to dangle under her nose one thing I was sure she would want."

"What if it doesn't work?" Inuyasha asked the question which had been nagging at her mind.

"Let's just hope it will." The wind sorceress let out through her clenched throat. "Even if it does, I will do as I have promised. However when Sesshoumaru wakes up, and I know he will, nothing will prevent him from coming to me." She forced a small smile before adding. "I did say I would leave, not that I would give up on marrying Sesshoumaru…"

It took the hanyou a second to recollect the conversation Kagura had just had with Asuka, and once he realized that she indeed had not promised to walk out of her lover's life for good, he felt reassured.

"Feh! You truly are one cunning crazy wench. I don't know why you have so much faith in that poison guy. .." Inuyasha could only hope that Kagura was not making a mistake.

"The way I see things, he's the only chance Sesshoumaru has right now. Nothing else worked, and unless you have some other remedy, we have to rely on _Mukotsu_."

"I suppose..." Inuyasha reluctantly grumbled. He was still not convinced by Kagura's decision, but decided not to question it. Not being one who could stand tense awkward situations, he decided to try to cheer up Kagura. He dug inside his pocket, and retrieved a small object that he threw in her direction. It was only because of her youkai reflexes that she was able to catch it.

"This is…" The wind sorceress started. To her own annoyance, she was suddenly too choked up by emotion to be able to fully finish her sentence. Even if words failed her, and that her bloodshot crimson eyes were suddenly becoming very moist, it was with steady fingers that she placed the elegant ring around her finger.

"That old bat of Totosai gave it to me when I stopped by the penthouse to check on things. I thought you'd like to have it." Inuyasha could not help but wish Asuka had stayed long enough to see the gift he had brought for Kagura. He was dying to know how she would react to him giving Tenseiga to the other demoness.

The wind sorceress brought her left hand up for inspection, the diamonds on Tenseiga shinning brighter than ever on her finger.

'_Sesshoumaru intends to spend the rest of his life with me, and that is a commitment I take seriously because we love each other.' _She walked towards her unmoving fiancé, and carefully sat next to his arm on the bed.

"I'm going to go for now… Kagome and Shippou are waiting for me." The half dog demon lied. He had never been one to handle displays of emotion well, and something told him that the way Kagura's eyes were shimmering while she stared down at Sesshoumaru's face was a prelude to a breakdown, which he had no intention to witness.

"Sure. If there's any news, I'll let you know." In response he nodded towards her before heading straight for the door.

"Oh Inuyasha." He turned around to look back at the wind sorceress who had called after him.

"Thank you." Kagura's whispered words resonating in his ears, the young hanyou walked out of the room, leaving the young woman with her lover.

* * *

"Are you sure that thing is safe? It reeks." Inuyasha could not help but comment. He, Kagura, Asuka and Suikotsu were all watching intently as Mukotsu got ready to attempt to save Sesshoumaru's life.

The five of them were standing in a semi circle around Sesshoumaru's bed. While Inuyasha's nose kept twitching, the two demoness and the young doctor stayed silent as Mukotsu kept pulling objects out of the white backpack which had been strapped behind his back a few minutes ago. Only an hour before Mukotsu had asked his former associate to summon Sesshoumaru's family members in order for them to witness him administrating the antidote to the dog demon.

As much as she tried to hide it, Kagura could not repress a shiver of unease from shaking her thin frame when she noticed the huge syringe Mukotsu pulled out of his bag. She did not know what he was planning to do with it, but she was sure that it would hurt her lover, which made her worried.

_'I guess it's what they call a necessary evil…' _She thought as she nervously twirled Tenseiga around her finger. Getting her engagement ring back had helped her remember that Sesshoumaru and she were going to have a bright future after he woke up.

Inuyasha was more focused on the jar full of an oily dark brown liquid the young pudgy human then produced from his bag. Using his dog senses he had been able to make up the foul smell the second he had stepped inside the room, and had immediately suspected it was the antidote the potion master.

_'Feh! I don't know what he put in that, but I've never smelt anything this disgusting.' _Inuyasha rubbed his nose. _'Only the smell of it should be able to bring Sesshoumaru back from his coma…'_

A much more subdued Asuka was watching the proceedings with wide golden eyes. She was impatient for Mukotsu to start working.

_'Whatever happens this will be a win-win situation for me. If the antidote works, then I will have my son back; if it fails, both Sesshoumaru and I will be rid of Kagura for good.'_

"How long will this take? We all have better things to do." Asuka addressed none other than Mukotsu.

The hunched human, turned his big round eyes towards the beautiful dog demoness, and gave her a nonplused look. "It will take as long as it takes." He placed latex gloves on his hands then removed the syringe from its wrapper.

Suikotsu easily felt the tension rising in the room, and decided to try to calm down everyone.

"Mrs. Takaha…"

"Mrs. _Watanabe_-Takahashi" She corrected the young human.

"Mrs. Watanabe-Takahashi" Suikotsu amended. "I am sure Mukotsu is doing all he can in order to help your son. We have all waited three days for him to craft this antidote, so I am sure we can all wait a few more minutes." He sent the older woman a bright smile to which she of course did not answer.

Even if both Inuyasha and Asuka were trying to mask their feelings, the two of them as well as Kagura and Suikotsu waited with bated breath as Mukotsu started injecting the dark substance into one of Sesshoumaru's IV through the big syringe he had unwrapped earlier.

Five pair of eyes followed the substance as it travelled down the long transparent tube before reaching the vein on Sesshoumaru's arm and disappearing into his body.

"As I thought, this was a waste of time." Asuka scoffed after a few minutes, masking the fact that deep down she had hoped the antidote would work, even if it meant she would have to suffer Kagura's presence longer.

"What ignorance! The potion will need time to take effect. It may even require more than one application." Mukotsu, who did not like to be doubted, spit out in the direction of the regal dog demoness.

Asuka was imagining various and very painful ways of destroying the small human. Most of them involved her very potent poison since he seemed very fond of it…

"After this first dose, I will make Sesshoumaru go through some tests to see if there might be some improvement in his condition." Suikotsu quickly interjected, once more hoping to dispel the tension between his friend and the mother of his patient.

"In that case I will take my leave. I better be informed if there are any changes." Asuka glided towards the door, and quickly exited the room. Once she was out of the room she lowered her eyes to the hand which was holding on to her designer clutch purse, and was shocked to see the limb was shaking tremendously.

'_Stupid emotions.' _She thought angrily before stomping in the direction of the parking garage.

Back inside the room, Inuyasha briefly averted his gaze from his brother to the door. "Good riddance." He muttered under his breath.

"I will be back in a few hours to take another blood sample for analysis. For now I will go prepare some more antidote." The short poison master informed everyone, not caring one bit about how they may react to his work. "While I am working, do not interrupt me… unless the patient shows a reaction to the treatment."

"Reaction?" Kagura echoed.

"Some people turn out to be allergic to some of the herbs or roots I use in my potion… Although I am unsure how it will work out with a youkai. If he develops hives, redness, a fever or anything uncommon, let me know."

Not even bothering to provide a more detailed explanation, Mukotsu picked up his bag, and put back his protective white veil back over his face. In the next instant his small form was waddling out of the room, and heading back to his lab. He really could not wait to see how his first youkai patient was going to react to his potion.

"Side effects? How come that bastard didn't tell us that was possible?" Since the source of his upset was out of his reach, Inuyasha turned towards Suikotsu. He sent a glare towards the young doctor before speaking again. "If Sesshoumaru gets worse, I'll blame you."

"Inuyasha…" Kagura gently tried to calm him down. Having him get angry at Sesshoumaru's doctors was not going to help matters. "He said it was a possibility, but Sesshoumaru is a demon, and a strong one. I doubt there will be any side effects." Even though she was trying to reassure the hanyou, her words were helping her as well. "I'll keep an eye on Sesshoumaru to make sure he's doing alright. If I see any changes, I'll be sure to let Suikotsu and Mukotsu know. Of course I'll let you know too. You should go see Kagome; I know how unnerving things can be for a pregnant woman when you're time's nearing."

As much as Inuyasha wanted to argue, he had to admit that now that Kagome was approaching the third trimester of her pregnancy, she was having a harder time with things. Her feet were swollen, she was having horrible heartburn and backache, and had developed a tendency to fall asleep anywhere anytime. The latter was what worried him the most, and had even pushed him to ask her to stop driving. And since she had to rely on him or her mother to get around, the half demon could not afford to be away from home for too long.

"Keh! Alright, I'll go for now, but if anything changes, call me." Kagura nodded in assent upon hearing the words of her future brother in-law. With a last nod in her direction, Inuyasha left his brother's hospital room.

Not really knowing what else he could add, and figuring that Kagura would probably be better off by herself, Suikotsu also took his leave.

* * *

Sesshoumaru Takahashi had never felt this strange in his life. He was plunged in complete darkness, and could not hear a sound, which was very uncommon for a dog demon as himself who so often relied on his sense. He tried remembering where he was, or what had happened, but he could not. He struggled, but to his own shock found himself unable to move. Growing irritated, he then attempted to open his eyes, but found them to be glued together. He felt a growing tingling sensation resonate through his left arm, but could not figure out what it was. Before he had a chance to figure out what happened, his mind suddenly shut down, and everything went blank again.

* * *

Kagura stretched as much as she could while not having to get up from her seat. As much as she wanted to take a nap, she knew that Mukotsu would come soon to give Sesshoumaru his third dose of the day.

_'For the past two days he's been giving Sesshoumaru regular doses of the antidote, but nothing's happened yet.' _She sighed heavily as her crimson eyes rested on her fiancé's ever slumbering form. _'I know that soon Asuka will come to tell me to leave. We've made a bargain, and I intend to fulfill my end… as much as it may hurt me. While Suikotsu thinks up another way to help Sesshoumaru, I can focus on the girls. Kanna's birthday is in only two days, and she misses her dad so much. The least I can do is be here for her…'_

Her head full of her daughters' pain, the young demoness walked towards her lover with the clear aim to say her goodbyes. She sat next to him, and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. She gasped when she felt something move against her jean clad thigh. Her eyes lowered, and she was shocked to see Sesshoumaru's hand clench the white bed sheet. Her heart skipped a beat, and air rushed into her lungs.

"Sesshoumaru!" She whispered incredulously before launching herself towards the side table which had a phone resting on it. Using the speed dial, she quickly called the office situated on the highest level of the clinic. As soon as the person on the other line answered, she wasted no time speaking the words she had wanted and hoped to say for so long.

"Suikotsu… it's Sesshoumaru, I think he's waking up!"

**To be continued…**

A/N: Will Sesshoumaru really wake up, or will Asuka be rid of Kagura for good? We shall see. Although I'm sure you can guess since the chapter will be named **Convalescence**. I'm planning on only having one or two more chappies before *sniff sniff* the store comes to an end.


	87. A Birthday Gift

_**Chapter 87: A Birthday Gift**_

A/N: Long time no see! So sorry for the lack of updates. I have started working on another little project, and kind of got lost in it lol. I'll let you guys know more about it at some later date :) This will be a shorter chapter, so I apologize in advance. I'll try to have the next update sooner.

Thank you my dear reviewers!**  
**

**BlackBurningHeart **

**SamiMac**

**Little25victor **(So the mystery of the identity of Anonymous is no more lol. Can't say I blame you for being cautious. Asuka's plans will not be going as expected for sure. I'll probably go up to 90 chapters, but no more.)

**Kagura's number one fan **(There are still at least 3 chapters to go, so don't be too sad. When it comes to Sesshy, we'll see how he turns out.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'For the past two days he's been giving Sesshoumaru regular doses of the antidote, but nothing's happened yet.' _Kagura sighed heavily as her crimson eyes rested on her fiancé's ever slumbering form._ 'I know that soon Asuka will come to tell me to leave. We've made a bargain, and I intend to fulfill my end… as much as it may hurt me. While Suikotsu thinks up another way to help Sesshoumaru, I can focus on the girls. Kanna's birthday is in only two days, and she misses her dad so much. The least I can do is be here for her…'

_Her head full of her daughters' pain, the young demoness walked towards her lover with the clear aim to say her goodbyes. She sat next to him, and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. She gasped when she felt something move against her jean clad thigh. Her eyes lowered, and she was shocked to see Sesshoumaru's hand clench the white bed sheet. Her heart skipped a beat, and air rushed into her lungs._

_ "Sesshoumaru!" She whispered incredulously before launching herself towards the side table which had a phone resting on it. Using the speed dial, she quickly called the office situated on the highest level of the clinic. As soon as the person on the other line answered, she wasted no time speaking the words she had wanted and hoped to say for so long._

_ "Suikotsu… it's Sesshoumaru, I think he's waking up!"_

* * *

Kagura's crimson eyes anxiously followed Suikotsu as he checked over Sesshoumaru's body. To her disappointment by the time she had hung up the phone, her lover had become unresponsive again.

_'I really thought that he was going to open his eyes, or hold my hand.' _She felt tears pool in her eyes, but held them at bay; she was not going to lose hope. Sesshoumaru moving his hand had been a sure proof to her that Mukotsu's potion was working.

The young doctor pocketed the penlight he had just used to check if Sesshoumaru's eyes were responsive.

"So, how is he?" Kagura asked. Based on the young human's closed off face she really could not gauge how the examination had gone.

"I will need to make some more in depth tests, but it seems to me that things are looking good. There is a lot of improvement. Sesshoumaru has shown some response; especially to pain. He twitched when I pinched him, which did not occur a week ago."

"Oh thank God! Then why are you looking so grim?" She breathed a sigh of relief, and barely refrained herself from snapping at the young doctor.

Suikotsu grinned slightly at her question. "I just did not really expect Mukotsu's potion to work.

"You mean you didn't trust in your friend?" The wind sorceress exclaimed. "Then why the hell did you even allow him into your clinic?"

"We were running out of options, and he presented us with a possible solution." The human man answered sheepishly. "I am just glad to see that the plan worked after all."

Since she really did not see any reason why, now that her fiancé was doing better, she should be mad at Suikotsu, Kagura smiled at him.

* * *

"We have been waiting for almost an entire day, and still no changes. This has really become ridiculous." Asuka elegantly uncrossed her legs, and stood up from the seat she had been settled in at Sesshoumaru's bedside.

"Are you so eager to get rid of me? Don't you even care about your son?" Kagura snapped bitterly at the older woman. Her nerves were raw, and she did not care about harming Asuka's feelings. Basing herself on Suikotsu's encouraging words, she had really hoped to see Sesshoumaru wake up, but this had not occurred as of yet.

The regal dog demoness sent her son's fiancée a sour look before answering her question. "Of course I care for Sesshoumaru; more than you could imagine. I just believe that this whole master of potion charade has gone on for too long. I have let you do as you wanted in exchange for your promise, and results have yet to be produced."

Kagura knew that there was truth in Asuka's words. She had promised to leave her lover's side in exchange for Asuka allowing Mukotsu to try his potion on Sesshoumaru.

_'I know Mukotsu's remedy is working. I felt and saw Sesshoumaru move earlier, and Suikotsu did say that he was displaying some response signs. All he needs is more time… I'm sure of it!'_ The wind sorceress allowed her crimson gaze to briefly stray to her fiancé's slumbering body. _'I just don't know how to give you the time you need my love. I'm sorry but it seems like I will have to leave you behind… even though I hate the idea of it.'_

Thinking about leaving someone behind caused her heart to pinch as she was reminded of her daughters with who she had spent so little time in the past weeks. She felt extremely guilty about not only keeping them away from their father, but more importantly spending so much time away from the two young girls. Because Sesshoumaru was not there, she knew their daughters needed her more than ever, especially Kanna after the ordeal she had lived at the hands of Naraku, but Kagura could not leave Sesshoumaru behind either. She was really torn between being with her daughters, and being with her fiancé. Every time she left her daughters behind at the Fujibayashi mansion to hurry back towards Suikotsu's clinic, she left parts of her heart behind; that she was sure of.

"As per our agreement I believe it is time for you to finally let go of my son. I have been more than patient after all." The dog demoness interrupted the younger woman's thoughts.

"I'll go… but before I do I want to allow our daughters to see their father." During the many days of Sesshoumaru's hospitalization, Kagura had debated with the idea of letting Rin and Kanna see him in a comatose state. Now that she was forced to leave his side, and did not know when she would next see him, awake or not, she decided that maybe not allowing Rin and Kanna to see him might not be the best thing for them. After all she did not know when her daughters would be able to see their father, and keeping them away from him was becoming harder every day.

_'Rin may be more reserved in her requests to come with me to the clinic, but in the past few days Kanna has been throwing so many awful tantrums. I'm sure it's because her birthday is tomorrow and Sesshoumaru has yet to awaken. The one thing Kanna has been asking as a gift is to see her father. She has even given up on the idea of getting a pony.' _Just thinking of her daughter's previous outrageous request made a smile dance on her lips. '_Every time I talk to the girls, and they ask me about him, my heart breaks a little bit more. Kanna is going to turn a year older tomorrow and one of the most important people in her life won't be with her to celebrate that… not to mention that the big birthday party we had planned was cancelled…'_

Considering that Sesshoumaru would not be able to participate in the festivities they had decided to postpone the big birthday celebration until he would wake up from his coma. Kagura had originally planned to put on a brave face, and put together a party worthy of Kanna, but the little girl had decided to pull the plug on the party. She did not want to have fun if her dad was not there. She had then gone on to beg her mother to take her with her to the clinic, but no matter how heartbreaking seeing her daughter's eyes fill with tears was, the wind sorceress had stayed strong, and had refused her. Refusing her had been hard because she knew her daughter wanted nothing more than to see her father after all Kanna had not even allowed Kagura or Sakura to get her a new mirror to replace the one Naraku had destroyed only because she wanted Sesshoumaru to be involved in getting her a new mirror.

Asuka reflected on Kagura's request. _'I doubt this is a last minute effort to stay closer to Sesshoumaru's side…' _"Fine, I will allow it. You can bring your children tomorrow."

The dog demoness had expected to be thanked profusely by Kagura, but the wind sorceress simply walked over to her lover's bedside. She carefully leaned over him, and pressed a kiss to his unmoving lips.

"I'll see you tomorrow my love. I'll bring our girls to see you too. They miss you so much… it's Kanna's birthday tomorrow… if only you could wake up soon. Anyways keep trying, I'll see you tomorrow." Ignoring the sounds of disgust emanating from Asuka's lips, and aiming to annoy the other woman a little bit, Kagura took the time to give her fiancé another tender kiss.

Kagura then went to the side table where she had left her coat, scarf and purse, and after picking up her stuff, walked towards the door. Since she could feel Asuka glowering at her, she briefly turned around to speak to the older woman.

"Do not worry, after I stop by tomorrow morning with Rin and Kanna, I will leave." The wind sorceress walked out of the door without sparing Asuka another glance. For the first time in a long time she was going to her parents' house to spend the night with her girls. When she heard the other woman huff in annoyance, the young woman could not help the grin which appeared on her lips. These days getting under Asuka's skin was the only thing which brought her joy.

_'Even if Kanna cancelled her party, we can still have some fun. She, Rin and I could bake a birthday cake tonight, and have a big celebratory breakfast tomorrow morning.' _Making plans helped lift her spirits. She had been very depressed ever since Sesshoumaru had not shown any other reaction to the potion, but the prospect of spending some quality time with her daughters made the wind sorceress feel much better already. _'Now if only he could wake up… everything would be perfect.'_

* * *

Sesshoumaru's awareness had been wavering for what seemed to him to be forever. Sometimes his mind remained completely blank, and he was plunged in complete darkness. At other times, he felt as if he could thrust himself out of the obscurity which surrounded him. He was almost able to open his eyes, but despite all his efforts he was unable to move. Often when he came out of his moments of deep darkness, he was sure he was even able to make out some voices floating around him, but to his growing frustration he had remained unable to speak back or move.

A faint floral scent and a familiar soft voice reached his senses. It was followed by a sweet tingling sensation on his lips. It took him a few seconds to realize who was speaking to him, but when he did, he wanted nothing more than to reach for the woman he loved.

_'Kagura.'_ Before he had a chance to react to the discovery of his fiancée's voice, he was engulfed by darkness once again.

* * *

Kagura, Rin and Kanna entered Suikotsu's clinic walking hand in hand. The wind sorceress was holding on to the two little girls with each of her hands. Rin may be old enough to walk without her mother's assistance, but walking in such a fashion reminded the three of them how Kagura, Sesshoumaru and the girls had walked side by side that summer afternoon long ago when they had been to the swimming pool of the Imperial hotel.

_'It feels like it was a lifetime ago. So much happened in the past few months.' _Kagura refused to dwell on the negative things, and instead lowered her gaze to the glittering ring looped around her finger. _'Not only bad things have happened though…'_

The three of them reached the reception desk, and Kagura did not bother stopping. She had been coming in and out of the clinic so much as of late that everyone knew her. She did send a quick smile to the young man seated behind the desk. She could not help but reflect on how far she had come from the terrifying night when Kanna's pneumonia had become worse, and she had had to rush her daughter to Suikotsu's clinic.

_'How far Kagura Onigumo has come. To think that almost a year ago they refused me admittance in this clinic because I did not have health insurance…' _She pulled herself out of her thoughts when the three of them reached the elevators.

She briefly released the hold she had on Rin's hand to punch the elevator call button. After once again taking hold of her daughter's hand, she addressed her two children. "Girls do you remember the rules I told you over breakfast this morning?"

"Yes." Kanna answered her mother's question.

"We have to talk softly and not jump on the bed." Rin added, always eager to please.

The young mother smiled appreciatively to the two children, and after the three of them stepped inside the car, she pressed the button for the highest floor where Sesshoumaru's hospital room was located. Soon enough the three of them were walking down a corridor, and had reached the door behind which Sesshoumaru Takahashi was resting.

Kagura relinquished her hold on her children, and opened the door. She briefly paused to wish Asuka would not be here. She had purposely chosen to come see her fiancé early in the morning in order to make sure that her and her daughters would not run into Asuka. After all she knew that the older demoness did not usually get out of bed before 10 am. She therefore only came to visit her son in the afternoon, which was the time Kagura always conveniently chose to go to her mother's house in order to check in on Kanna and Rin.

One of the first things Kagura noticed upon entering the hospital room was that the IV which helped administer Mukotsu's potion to Sesshoumaru was full.

_'I figured that after I left yesterday Asuka would have ordered Suikotsu to stop giving the potion to Sesshoumaru… wonder why she did not.'_

She forced herself not to think about her would be mother in-law's decisions and actions, and instead focused on her daughters.

"It's very warm in here, so you guys can remove your coats." Rin wasted no time following her mother's words even as she kept her dark eyes glued on her father's unmoving body. It was very strange for her to see the one person she considered to be the strongest man she had ever known lying unconscious.

When it came to Kanna, she was so focused on Sesshoumaru that she did not hear her mother's words. Kagura therefore took it upon herself to help her daughter out of her warm garment. She then collected Rin's coat, and along with hers dumped the three articles of clothing on the nearest chair.

"You guys can get closer if you want." Kagura whispered. Following the wind sorceress's words, Rin and Kanna tentatively stepped closer to the bed. Her crimson eyes followed them closely as they stopped a few inches away from the imposing bed. Both of the children had eyes opened wide as they took in the sigh of Sesshoumaru's arm where the large IV was plugged in, digging deeply into his skin.

"If you promise to be careful, you can seat on the bed next to him." Kagura let her daughters know. She could tell by the way both girls were standing on the tip of their toes that they wanted to get closer to Sesshoumaru.

Rin helped Kanna climb into the bed, then careful not to step on the IV or other monitoring devices attached to her father's body, slid in the bed on his other side.

"Daddy… I finally have a new family so you have to get better… we have to do lots and lots of fun things. You promised me when it becomes warm again we'll go to the beach house…" Rin whispered as hot tears streamed down her face. When Kanna had told her about the short vacation she, her parents and their friends had taken last spring, there had been nothing Rin had wished for more than to go there with her new family. She had shyly asked Sesshoumaru about it one evening, and he had promised her he would take her as soon as the warm days would come back. The dark haired girl could not keep on speaking as she started sobbing uncontrollably.

Kanna briefly shifted her gaze from her father to her older sister. She shared Rin's pain, but the emotion which caused her heart to break was guilt.

_'It's all my fault.' _Kanna thought sadly as she looked back at her father's unmoving face. It was the number one reason why the youngest girl had begged her mother to take her to see Sesshoumaru, contrary to what Kagura might have thought.

The young child lowered her face towards her father, and whispered in his ear.

"I am so sorry. If you didn't come to save me you would be fine." Ever since she had seen Sesshoumaru get shot, Kanna had blamed herself for calling out to him to come save her after Naraku had abducted her. She had convinced herself that had she not asked her father to come save her, he would have been fine. "If you did not come for me you would be not hurt… I'm sorry… I want you to come back. I'll be a good girl. I don't even want nothing for my birthday, just you. You promised you will help with the party, and I want you to be here… We made a cake yesterday, and I want to eat it with you. Please wake up."

She did not hold her tears in as they fell down over the skin of Sesshoumaru's face. A salty droplet fell from her eyes, and followed the stripe which adorned his right cheek before falling down to disappear on the pillow on which his head rested.

Kagura had seen, and mostly heard enough. She wiped the tears blurring her vision, and took a deep calming breath.

"Girls I think it's enough. You've been upset enough…" The wind sorceress struggled not to let a sob escape her lips. She knew her daughters had to be scared and hurt by Sesshoumaru's condition, but had not realized how much their heart was breaking. She could not help but wonder if letting Kanna and Rin see their father in such a state had been a good idea after all.

"Please mom can we stay longer?" It was Rin, who so rarely asked for anything who had voiced the request, but it was the tears she and Kanna started to wipe away, which made her resolve crumble. She knew the two children were trying to mask their real feelings for her benefit, and this hurt and affected her more than the words they had whispered in the slumbering youkai's ears.

"Okay, but just a few more minutes." Kagura reluctantly agreed. She fished inside her pocket for a tissue and after wiping her tears away blew her nose noisily. _'With Asuka in charge, I don't know when's the next time the girls will be allowed to see their father. Maybe I should let them talk to him a little longer. It may be good for them… or good for Sesshoumaru as well. Maybe they could help him wake up.'_

* * *

Sesshoumaru Takahashi was once again surrounded in darkness. He forced himself to push through the haze engulfing him, and to ignore the tingling sensation radiating in his left arm. He could hear voices around him. Voices he knew well.

_'Kanna… Rin.' _He thought to himself. His nose was assaulted with the salty scent of their tears, and the need to comfort his children took over him. _'They need me. Kagura needs me too.'_

He forced himself to clear the veil of obscurity placed in front of his eyes. He was Sesshoumaru, and he would not be kept away from what he wanted. His eyes felt glued shut together, his head was filled with fog, and his body felt heavy. Despite all this, he managed to push through the discomfort and pain. He knew he needed too. He focused all his strength on waking up. He had to go them.

Suddenly there was light. He had barely cracked his eyes opened, but his sensitive orbs were assaulted by bright lights and bright colors. He had barely opened his eyes that his sensitive ears were assaulted by sharp cries.

"Mommy!"

"Mom!"

The excited cries of Kanna and Rin mingled, getting the wind sorceress's attention. She walked towards the bed, and a chocked cry escaped her throat when she saw Sesshoumaru's eyes barely opened. Never had she been gladder to see the amber colored orbs more.

"Sesshoumaru! Don't you dare close your eyes!" She warned him when she noticed he was blinking furiously as if struggling to keep his eyes opened. She rushed directly for the phone to punch in Suikotsu's number. "Sesshoumaru, listen to me! If you close your eyes, I swear I will fucking kill you." She was so excited and apprehensive that she did not filter her language as was her habit. Not that Rin and Kanna were paying attention. The two little girls were talking excitedly to their father as tears of happiness streamed down their cheeks.

"Suikotsu… Sesshoumaru opened his eyes!" Kagura turned around to face her fiancé. She smiled through her tears when she saw that Rin and Kanna had both laid down on the bed to hug their father.

"I'll be right over." The young doctor did not even bother speaking longer to the wind sorceress, he knew she was eager to go to the man she loved.

After the quick phone call, Kagura hurried to join Sesshoumaru's bedside. She reached over Rin's body to gently brush her fiancé's silver bangs out of his eyes. He looked up, and for the first time in a long time crimson met amber.

"Welcome back Sesshoumaru."

**To be continued…**

A/N: Yay he's awake, but there's still lots of issues to address, and things to deal with. I think there are going to be two more chapters than an epilogue. The next one will be named **Convalescence**. I'll try to have it up as soon as possible.


	88. Convalescence

_**Chapter 88: Convalescence**_

A/N: Long chapter as we still have much to address.

Thanks for the reviews, you guys keep me going:

**BlackBurningHeart **

**SamiMac**

**Little25victor **(Aw the power of love. Sesshy is back indeed. Asuka's reaction to this will be surprising. Will everyone have a happy ending… now that would be too boring. There are still going to be some surprises.)

**515byakuya**

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"Enough!" Sesshoumaru roared. For the better part of the past two hours, he had been touched, probed and looked all over by Suikotsu. Ever since he had awakened from his coma a few hours ago, he had had to endure a long examination at the hands of his physician, which did not seat well with the dog demon. After all this was not how Sesshoumaru had expected to spend his first hours awake.

"I don't want to hear one word of complaint." Kagura sent her fiancé a nasty glare. "Don't listen to him Suikotsu, do whatever it takes to prevent Sesshoumaru from lapsing into a coma again."

The young doctor could not help but snicker at the way Kagura was so effortlessly bossing the dog demon around. The Sesshoumaru he knew would never be caught dead being told what to do; especially by a little woman.

Noticing the amusement present on his doctor's face, Sesshoumaru grew irritated. He intended to let the other man know exactly about his feelings, but his façade fell when Suikotsu probed his left arm. Sesshoumaru did his best to pretend he was not hurt, but he could not prevent himself from wincing.

"Kagura why don't you go join your daughters and your mother for lunch downstairs? I'm sure they would enjoy the company. I'll keep Sesshoumaru busy here for at least another hour." Suikotsu turned from his patient to look at the young woman seated in the nearby chair.

The wind sorceress was about to refuse as she really did not want to be separated from Sesshoumaru now that she had him back, but considering that her stomach had been growling furiously for the past half hour, she figured it might not be such a bad idea.

_'I was too upset to eat breakfast this morning at the idea of bringing the girls to see Sesshoumaru… but now I could definitely use some food. Not to mention that I want to talk to the girls, and warn them to tread carefully. The last thing I'd want would be for them to tire him out.' _She briefly thought back to how Sakura and Morio had to practically pry Rin and Kanna off of their father's bed to let Suikotsu take a look at the inu youkai.

As if noting Kagura's hesitation, Sesshoumaru averted his gaze from his doctor's smiling face to his fiancée. "Go Kagura. I can assure you this Sesshoumaru is not going anywhere."

The wind sorceress chuckled at his last comment. She had not had much reason to laugh as of late, and doing so felt so good.

"Alright you guys win. I'll make it back as quickly as possible. Sesshoumaru, you better get ready to get assaulted by the girls again." Kagura was so glad to have her lover back, and would have loved to press a kiss to his lips, but did not dare to in the presence of Suikotsu. She contented herself with sending him a bright smile, and left the hospital room.

"Good thing you sent her to eat." Suikotsu said once the door was shut after Kagura. "I've been worried about her, especially because of her anemia. I know she's been taking the iron supplements I prescribed her, but she hasn't really been taking care of herself. She's been sitting in that chair at your bedside day and night. At least she'll get the chance to eat and rest now."

The wind sorceress had filled in Sesshoumaru about his coma, but had left out that part, which did not really surprise him.

_'The witch probably did not want to worry me…' _He thought even as his heart swelled with love for the woman who had stayed faithfully by his side.

"Anyways let's focus back on you. Everything looks good so far… except for the arm. When exactly were you going to tell me you're in pain?" The easy smile the doctor had had on his face earlier was replaced by a dark scowl.

"This Sesshoumaru is doing fine." The youkai retorted. He had no intention of staying in the hospital any longer. He wanted to put Kanna's abduction and his ensuing injury and coma behind them, and be able to spend some much deserved quality time with his family.

"Uh-hum. Then why is it you looked on the verge of tears when Rin hugged your arm earlier?" The doctor commented on the scene he had witnessed upon entering his patient's room.

"What nonsense."

Suikotsu did not bother denying his patient's words. He simply slapped Sesshoumaru's arm as hard as he could, paying attention to hit the closed off bullet wound. The dog demon growled and glared, but despite his best efforts was unable to mask the look of pain which transpired in his eyes.

"There might have been some more serious nerve damage than I had anticipated." Suikotsu said thoughtfully. During the time of Sesshoumaru's blood poisoning and coma, the young doctor had pushed back the thought of the bullet wound. He had expected for the injury to heal completely considering that Sesshoumaru was such a powerful dog demon.

_'It seems I might have been mistaken. I will need to look into this.' _Even as he thought this, the young human extended his arm towards his patient. "Sesshoumaru, shake my hand."

Grudgingly, the other man did as told. Suikotsu sighed when Sesshoumaru reached for him. "You know I meant with your other hand, the left one. I want to see if your arm is as unaffected as you claim it is…"

Baiting the dog demon and mocking his pride had a tendency to work pretty well, and this time was no different. Sesshoumaru struggled to lift his left arm, which seemed to weigh three tons, and awkwardly gripped the other man's hand. The simple action exhausted him, and had him almost sweating in exertion by the time he let go of his doctor's limb, and allowed the arm to fall back down on the bed.

_'As if I falling into a coma was not bad enough. Now my damn arm won't work. I hate feeling this weak!'_ Sesshoumaru thought angrily as he clenched his teeth.

Suikotsu's keen eyes easily noticed his friend's upset, and sought to reassure him. "It seems the nerve and muscle damage was more than I had anticipated, but there is no need to be worried. This is of course not uncommon with people who have been shot. You might need some physical rehabilitation…"

Sesshoumaru interrupted his doctor's words by sending the other man a sharp glare. The mere thought of having to go through a physical rehab program was unconceivable to a strong dog demon as him.

"Well of course I'm not sure the physical therapy will be necessary. I need to make you go through some tests first of course."

"No more tests."

"Fine with me, I don't care that you can barely move your left arm. But let me assure you that you'll be the one who will explain to your kids why you can't lift them anymore. Not to mention Kagura, how will you explain that to her…"

Sesshoumaru knew there was truth in the other man's words. Even if he had wished to deny it, he would not have been able to. His golden eyes lowered to his left arm and hand lying on the white sheet of his hospital bed. He clenched his fist, and was angered when he did not manage to summon as much strength as before.

Sesshoumaru however did not get the chance to dwell on his feelings as Kagura suddenly burst back into the room. Her daughters, Morio and Sakura following behind her.

"Explain what to Kagura?" She asked looking from Suikotsu to Sesshoumaru expectantly.

"Did you eat?" Her fiancé asked her, purposely ignoring her question.

"Grandma and grandpa let us have ice cream even if it's cold!" Kanna said excitedly.

"They said we had to celebrate having you back." Rin interjected, eager to defend her newfound grandparents.

"Good. I can see you enjoyed yourselves." Sesshoumaru was unnerved by the fact of being the only person lying down, and since he knew none of the adults would let him out of his bed, he beckoned his daughters closer. "Come up here." Rin and Kanna did not waste any time, and quickly obliged. Rin carefully slipped under his left arm, paying attention not to bump into the large IV giving the dog demon Mukotsu's potion, which Suikotsu had decided to leave in place for now. When it came to Kanna, a large smile was displayed on her lips once she snuggled under her father's right arm.

The dog demon pushed though the pain in his left arm, and using both hands gently caressed the heads of his daughters then looked towards Kagura, and raised an eyebrow in question, she knew he wanted to know if she had eaten as well.

_'I'm the one who should be fussing over him, not the other way around.' _She smiled indulgently when Rin and Kanna almost purred in pure contentment.

She grinned in Sesshoumaru's direction before answering. "No I didn't eat, but I will in a second. I ran into mom, Morio and the girls on my way to the cafeteria. They were coming back to your room, and were nice enough to bring me lunch." As proof, Kagura raised a white container up to Sesshoumaru's gaze. "So what were the two of you talking about before we came in?"

Suikotsu sent his patient an uncomfortable glance, hoping Sesshoumaru would confess his problem to Kagura. As much as he knew the wind sorceress should know, the young doctor could not betray his patient's confidentiality.

The anxious look did not escape Kagura's sharp gaze. "Mom, would you mind taking the girls to the mansion for the evening?"

"No mom!" Kanna scowled unhappily before her grandmother had the chance to abide to her daughter's request. Even if Rin had too wanted to express her displeasure, she had decided not to speak up.

"Honey, Sesshoumaru has to rest if you want him to come back home with us." The wind sorceress gently pacified her youngest daughter. She placed her lunch on the table next to her, then walked closer to the bed. "There's no need to worry, he's not going anywhere, I promise."

"Besides remember that you haven't blown the candles on your cake yet. We can still have a little birthday celebration for you Kanna." Sakura smiled in her granddaughter's reaction.

The void demoness's words caused Sesshoumaru's heart to clench. He had not realized that it was his daughter's birthday, and had he known he would have had the girls and Kagura to go home to celebrate Kanna's birthday.

_'She should not have to spend this special day in that damned clinic.' _He thought guiltily.

"I don't need a party. Now that daddy is back, I don't want anything." Kanna said bravely and honestly.

"What a pity. I guess grandma Sakura and I will just have to throw away the present_s_ we bought for you. And we can probably get rid of the cake you, Rin and your mommy baked yesterday…" Morio noted thoughtfully.

"Nuh-huh. Kanna wants nothing." She persisted, albeit a little more weakly. As much as she tried, she could not help but wonder what her grandparents had gotten her. She knew it was not going to be a pony, or a puppy which had been her number two choices, but her curiosity had been piqued, and she wanted to know what the gift would be.

"It would please me if you celebrated your birthday with your grandparents." Sesshoumaru told his daughter. When Kanna opened her mouth to formulate a protest, he quickly added "Once I am released from the hospital." He paused to send Suikotsu a pointed look. "We will have another, bigger celebration with everyone."

Kanna mulled over his words for a few seconds, then smiled again brightly. "Okay! What's my presents?"

Sakura chuckled at seeing the young child's excitement. "You will have to wait until we get home to find out." The void demoness headed towards the bed, and gently plucked Kanna from under her father's hold. Rin did not need any encouragement, and after pressing a quick shy kiss over Sesshoumaru's striped cheek, jumped out of the bed.

"Goodbye dad. Get better soon." The young human said as she walked towards Morio. She smiled up at the older demon when he protectively took a hold of her hand.

"Bye bye daddy." Kanna waved at the dog demon from her position in her grandmother's arms.

Sesshoumaru nodded to the two children, but did not voice anything; he was not about to say his feelings aloud in the presence of the Fujibayashis or Suikotsu.

"Morio and I will take care of everything, so don't you worry." Sakura said as she walked towards the exit, Kanna securely in her arms. "Kagura be sure to eat please, and let us know if you-know-who shows up again." The distaste in the woman's voice was quite clear.

The wind sorceress chuckled at her mother's words. "I must admit I'm surprised she hasn't yet considering that yesterday she was so eager to get rid of me." Kagura could feel Sesshoumaru's surprised gaze burning a hole in her back, and winced.

_'I probably should have told him about his mother earlier. But everything happened so quickly…' _She tried defending her choice to keep quiet about Asuka's machinations to get her son rid of her.

"Anyways, you guys go along now, and enjoy yourselves. I'll call you later, and mom please don't let them have more than a piece of cake." Kanna and Rin made small noises of protest, but Kagura ignored them. "You already had ice cream for dessert today." Their mother reminded them.

"Okay mommy…"

"Bye mom."

The voices of the little girls blended. They might be disappointed at the idea of not getting more cake, but nothing could compare with the joy of having their father back.

"Don't worry girls, grandma will sneak in another piece of cake to the two of you. What your mother doesn't know won't hurt her." Sakura chuckled as she, Kanna, Rin and Morio walked out into the clinic's corridor.

Kagura shook her head as the door closed after her family. She pretended not to have heard her mother's words and her daughters' ensuing cheer. _'Great now when I get home I'll have to deal with their sugar high…' _She thought to herself. Since she had come that morning anticipating not to come back to the clinic, she had removed all of her personal things from Sesshoumaru's room, and would have no choice but to go back to her parents' house to spend the night.

"What were you referring to earlier? Who is _you-know-who_?" Sesshoumaru asked Kagura. There was nothing he hated more than being kept in the dark.

"I think it's about time for me to make my exit as well. I do have other patients waiting…" Not even bothering for either youkai to respond, Suikotsu quickly slipped out of the room. Despite Sesshoumaru's protest he decided to go get one of his aides to come get the dog demon later on to make him go through some additional tests for his arm.

_'I will let the two of them have enough time to talk things out.'_

Kagura thoughtfully looked at the door which had closed after Suikotsu, and turned back towards her lover. "I'll answer once you tell me what you and Suikotsu were talking about when we came in earlier.

Sesshoumaru let out a heavy sigh, but decided to give in. After all Kagura was sure to find out eventually about his arm.

"The bullet wound was more serious than anticipated. It appears my left arm has suffered muscle or nerve damage." Sesshoumaru struggled to bring his weak arm closer to his gaze.

"What?" She gasped as she suddenly turned very pale. "I don't understand. But… Suikotsu said the surgery went fine, and that he got all the bullet fragments out." She added in shock. She had just gotten Sesshoumaru back, and the idea of him having to go through more pain was unbearable to her.

"I suspect it is due to whatever spell that bastard of Naraku put on the bullets." He spat angrily, not bothering to mask his feelings.

Kagura was devastated. She felt tears rise up inside her, and her previous hunger was quickly forgotten. Her tears were mostly due to fear and exhaustion. She had stood by her lover's bedside for so many long days, fought with his mother repeatedly, and hoped for him to wake up so much. Now that he had, thinking that his recovery was not complete broke her heart. Her fear increased when something else occurred to her. _'He uses his left hand to draw. How can he work without it? Not to mention that he must be in pain.' _She thought back to the way he had winced when Rin had jumped on his arm earlier. She sat by his side on her bed, and carefully took his injured arm in her hands.

Sesshoumaru was so focused on not displaying any outwards sign of the pain her hold on his limb created, that it was only when one of her warm tears touched his skin that he realized she was crying.

"Kagura…" He reached over with his right hand to gently brush away a tear. "You have no reason to worry. Everything will be fine, I promise you."

"I am so sorry. This is all my fault. Ever since I entered your life, all I've done is create trouble. By lying to you about my past, and not trusting you I have hurt you so much. If I had told you sooner about working for Naraku, he never would have tried to blackmail you, and things probably would never have escalated to him kidnapping Kanna." She took a brief pause to produce an undignified sniffle. "You never would have met Naraku had it not been for me. He hurt you… because of that you were in a coma… and now you're unable to use your arm. How are you going to draw and work without your hand?"

Sesshoumaru gently raised his hand to extend his caresses to the top of her head. "Wind witch, you are not to blame. The reason why Naraku resorted to such drastic and desperate measures was that I backed him into a corner by exposing his… business. When it comes to my arm." He spared the offending limb an annoyed look. "Do not underestimate this Sesshoumaru. Have full confidence that it will be restored fully soon." The dog demon assured his fiancée.

She brightened up upon hearing his words. "You're right. I know you're strong, we'll get through this." She reached up to press a kiss on Sesshoumaru's forehead. Not satisfied with the innocent peck, he used his hand to push her head down for their lips to meet. For the first time since he has awaken from his coma, the two of them were finally alone, and Sesshoumaru intended to take full advantage of it. The wind sorceress grinned, but kept her lips shut as she was not about to complain. She after all could think of better things to do with her mouth at that precise moment.

The door of the hospital room was suddenly thrown opened, interrupting the privacy of the two entwined lovers. Sesshoumaru reluctantly relinquished his hold on Kagura's head, and gently pushed her away. His golden eyes widened when he saw who had dared intrude.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Sesshoumaru spat distastefully when none other than his mother strolled inside the room.

The older woman ignored him, and walked towards the table to place her designer clutch bag, and matching white coat on it. After taking her time, and sensing her son's growing irritation, she finally answered. "Jaken has informed me of your recovery."

"This does not explain your presence."

"Tut-tut Sesshoumaru, has your dear fiancée not informed you that I have been visiting you almost daily. Kagura, Sakura and I have quite become good friends." Asuka said sarcastically.

Things finally clicked into place for Sesshoumaru. "I take it my mother is this 'you-know-who' person you were referring to earlier when talking with your mother." The dog demon turned to his side to speak to Kagura. He then gave his attention back to his mother. "Why have you come here?"

"Is this how you show your gratitude? I have raised you better than this. If you must know, I have been very worried about you." Asuka leaned over her son's bed to take a closer look at him. She was relieved to see that he seemed alert and awake. _'I guess Sesshoumaru's doctor was not as incompetent as I might have thought.'_

Again Sesshoumaru asked his question, adding emphasis to his voice as he really wanted an answer this time around. "Mother, why are you here?"

"I had originally come to check if some things..." Her cold golden eyes rolled to the side to look at Kagura briefly. "had been disposed of. However when Jaken told me you had awakened from your coma, I just had to come and see how you were doing."

He knew his mother too well, and her comment, coupled with the tidbits of information he had gathered from Kagura's earlier conversation with Sakura had led him to believe that Asuka had not been very welcoming of his fiancée. _'Which is something this Sesshoumaru will not stand for.'_

"Now girl, I would like to be left alone with my son. Sesshoumaru and I do have to catch up."

The wind sorceress sent the older woman a nasty glare. "If you think I'll stand by, and let you talk shit about me to Sesshoumaru…"

"Wind witch." Sesshoumaru interrupted her. "Nothing my mother could say could ever make me doubt you, that you can be assured of." As if to emphasize his point, the dog demon used the pad of his uninjured thumb to gently caress the Tenseiga which adorned her finger. "Now I would appreciate it you could go get me something to eat; I am famished. Please take the time to eat something this time around." He saw her frown, and quickly added. "You have no need to worry, this Sesshoumaru will be fine if left alone with my mother.

Kagura was backed into a corner. She really had no choice but to leave; even though she could not shake off a negative feeling. "Okay. I'll be back in fifteen minutes." She reluctantly agreed. She did take the time to take the food her mother had gotten her, then give her fiancé a brief kiss before walking out of the hospital room.

"Ah much better." Asuka smiled happily before plopping herself down on the left side of the bed. Sesshoumaru pushed his injured arm out of her way, gritting his teeth in effort, but keeping his face as closed off as possible as he did not want his mother to learn about his injury.

"What did you wish to talk to me about? Let me warn you in advance mother, if you intend to say anything about my fiancée…"

Asuka sighed in exasperation. "I have more important things to deal with right now than talking about that… woman." _'As unsuitable as she may be for him, she has stood by his side during his hospitalization, and has proved to be devoted to him. Not to mention that he seems to have genuine feelings for her.'_ The dog demoness pulled her thoughts away from Kagura, and decided to focus back on what she considered to be a most pressing issue. "I am here to talk to you about the agency."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had asked Kagura about the situation at the Takahashi agency, but she had remained tight lipped. She assured him that she had been too busy caring for him and their daughters to ask Inuyasha about the agency, but Sesshoumaru was convinced she remained silent by fear of tiring him out.

_'She is misguided if she thinks that being stuck in this hospital bed will keep me away from my company.'_ He thought angrily as he raised his gaze to look at his mother. "What is the matter?"

Glad to have her son's full attention, Asuka started speaking. "Jaken has been telling me everything about the going-ons at the agency." Sesshoumaru was polite enough not to point out that his 'faithful' retainer was obviously spying on him and his company in favor of his mother, which was something he vowed to put an end to soon enough.

"To put things in simple words, the board is stuck, and no decisions has been made in the past weeks. Of course I don't need to tell you that we are approaching a crucial time. Soon enough we will be receiving requests from new clients for ad and commercial campaigns for the holiday season. You're also aware that unless the board votes in favor of it the agency cannot take on new clients… I always thought that this was one of your father's most stupid ideas…. After all most board members are old goats. At least you got us rid of Kichiro Kanzaki; I've never been able to stand that man. He did manage to have you agree not to let you and your brother be major shareholders in your own company. Not to worry, we will get through this easily enough."

'_When exactly did this _we_ business start?' _Sesshoumaru could not help but wonder. "There is no _we_." His words caused his mother to frown. "The agency is mine, and I will deal with it."

Asuka grinned, revealing a sharp fang. "My dear son, I am not about to step on your toes. All I wish is to help. I've learned about the shares of the company you finally managed to get back from Kanzaki, and I have also been aware that you have yet to let someone buy or won these shares. Until they are redistributed, the board is unable to vote. You know that."

Things were finally taking shape in Sesshoumaru's mind; he now knew what his mother wanted. "Let me guess, you wish for me to put the shares in your name." He said in an icy voice.

"I stayed silent when you let that horrid Kanzaki talk you into promising you and your half brother would not own more than 45% of the company, but I do not intend to stand back and let you screw up again. Your company needs you, and by giving me the shares, you can be assured that I will always vote in favor of your proposals."

"Mother, did you think that my coma would have addled my brain? The reason you were not here to advise me on the best course of action after father's death was that you were too busy with your lover the ambassador." Sesshoumaru said viciously. At the time he had not cared that his mother had not been there; ever since he had gone to live with his father she had not been an important fixture in his life after all. "If you are in such desperate need of money, instead of trying to convince me to give you these shares, why don't you go back to your most recent lover? I am sure that if you play your cards right, the baron will take you back."

The dog demoness shot to her feet, and sent her son an angry stare. "He begged me to come back, but I refused because I knew you would need me. I made the choice to stay by your side. I do _not_ care about the money, I only wish to help you."

"Your concern is touching, but you have no need to worry. I have every intention of giving the shares to someone: my daughters. Of course until they are old enough to sit on the board, their mother will be the guardian of the shares." Sesshoumaru informed his mother.

"I had Myouga draw the necessary paperwork. All that is needed is Kagura's signature." Sesshoumaru said even as he made a mental reminder to ask his lawyer to add Rin's name to the papers._ 'I do hope that my close call will make Kagura see how important it is for her to accept to sign the damn papers.'_

"You would put _her _in charge?" Asuka asked incredulously. She was so angry that if her son had not been lying in a hospital bed, she would have tried to shake some sense into him.

"Of course. You may doubt it, but she is going to be my wife. She is already the mother of my children, your granddaughters, and as such you owe her respect. Let me tell you this one last time, I will not tolerate any words spoken against Kagura."

"Your coma has indeed addled your brain! I will come talk to you once you have regained your damn mind." Huffing angrily Asuka left the room, and slammed the door angrily after her.

Sesshoumaru let her go. He was not in the mood to get into yet another argument with his mother. He was tired, hungry, and his arm and head were throbbing. However he knew Kagura would be back soon, and before she did, he was determined to solve the problem his mother had revealed to him.

He leaned to the side, and picked up the phone placed on the side table. His exhausted body cried in protest, but he ignored the pain. He quickly punched in the number, and was relieved when the person on the other line answered after only one ring.

"You have much explaining to do." He growled into the phone.

* * *

"Surprise! I'm kidnapping you to go to lunch." Mayumi said cheerily as she popped her head inside Suikotsu's office. He smiled up at her, and pushed his chair away from his desk, but did not stand up.

"I wish I could go with you, but I'm working on a case…" He pointed on his desk littered with opened files and papers. "I'm sure you'll be glad to know that Sesshoumaru has woken up."

"Thank God!" Mayumi clapped her hands in happiness. "Kagura and their daughters must be so happy." The young woman walked towards her friend's desk. Since as of late she had been spending quite a bit of time in his presence, she did not wait to be invited to sit up in one of the two chairs which faced Suikotsu's working station.

"Is that for Sesshoumaru?" She asked as her eyes took in a medical book which was opened to the gruesome picture of a dissected arm.

"I can't really tell you that; I have to protect my patients' confidentiality…. So let's just say that I have a very important patient who suffered from a gunshot wound to the arm. I thought the wound had healed, but he is having difficulty moving his arm. I'm still waiting on lab results, but I think he may have suffered muscle damage."

The young woman easily figured out who her newest friend was talking about. Even though she had not been the one who had pulled the trigger, Mayumi still felt responsible for what had happened to Sesshoumaru and Kanna. _'Had I not helped Naraku, he might not have been able to take Kanna away, and Sesshoumaru would not have gotten hurt.'_

"Mayumi. You do realize you have no reason to feel guilty, right?" The doctor asked the younger demoness. He could tell his newest revelation had upset her, and he only wished to make her feel better. In the past weeks the two of them had grown closer, and Suikotsu had started developing feelings for his friend. For this reason only he wanted nothing more than to cheer her up.

Her past involvement in Naraku's nefarious plans was not something she liked talking about with Suikotsu. Mayumi therefore decided to quickly change the subject by blurting the first thing that came to her mind.

"A few nights ago, mom and I watched a program on television about a young human man who had been shot in the leg by accident. Doctors told him it was a miracle he had kept his limb, but that he would never walk again. But then he managed to gain back full control of his leg after a few months of physical training. Repetitive motions and exercise helped him build up his muscles back, and now he's walking just fine. If a human managed to do it, I'm sure Sesshoumaru can as well."

Suikotsu smiled briefly at the young woman seated across from him. Her bruises at the hands of Naraku had faded long ago, leaving behind a beautiful confident young woman, a woman for who he was falling fast.

"You're right, Sesshoumaru is the one person I know who can defy prognostics." The young doctor stood up from behind his desk, and rounded the piece of furniture to come stand next to his friend. She too stood up as she did not like having his larger form towering over her. She trusted Suikotsu completely, and knew he would never hurt her intentionally, but Mayumi had spent months as Naraku's personal punching bag, and was finding it hard to break her past habits and preservation instincts.

"I'm always glad to help cheer you up, so now that your mind is at ease, can you spare a few minutes to go eat with me? I convinced Jakotsu and Bankotsu to give me the afternoon off, and it'd be a shame if we didn't enjoy it together…"

Her gently spoken plea went straight to his heart, and before he realized what he was doing, Suikotsu was bent forward, his lips pressed firmly against Mayumi's.

"You shouldn't have done this…" She whispered taking a step back once he broke their kiss. Tear threatened to fall from her eyes, but she tried her best to keep them at bay.

Suikotsu looked at her with resolve burning in his dark eyes. "Why not? I know you like me, and I like you too."

"I do like you, but the two of us can never be; it wouldn't be right… You know about my past, you know what I've done…" She responded as tears ran down her pale cheeks.

The dark haired man could not help himself, he dissolved in laughter. "I could care less about your past. If you must know, I too have been on the wrong side of the law, more than once. In fact I've spent time in jail." His smile only broadened when he saw the younger woman's open wide in shock. "Let's just say I wasn't always the most upstanding citizen. But I've changed, and I know you can change too. You're working an honest job now, and all you need to be really respectable is a doctor boyfriend." He used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the stray tears that had escaped her eyes.

Despite her previous misgivings, she once again found herself unable to refuse Suikotsu anything.

"Okay… but we'll take things slowly." She said as she thought _'I want to give him a chance to back out any time he wants.'_

"Fine by me. I just want you to feel good when you're with me." He bent down to press another quick kiss to her unsuspecting lips, then looped his arm around hers, and taking her along walked towards the exit of his office. "Now why don't we go on this lunch date you promised me? Today I'm in the mood for sushi."

"Sushi sounds good." She agreed eagerly even as she leaned her head against his strong arm.

* * *

Kagura Onigumo, soon to be Takahashi, hurried down the corridor leading to her fiancé's room. Since she had been able to tell that Sesshoumaru really wanted to be left alone with his mother for a little bit, she had done as asked, and left the room. However she had just taken enough time to go heat up the food her mother had bought for her at the cafeteria, wolf it down, and buy some vegetable soup for Sesshoumaru. She knew he would have enjoyed a nice chunk of meat better, but she was not sure it would be recommended since he had just woken up from a coma. Holding on closely to the warm container in her hands, she hurried her steps.

_'I really hate the idea of leaving Sesshoumaru alone with his mother.' _She thought worriedly. After all she could remember all too well the numerous occasions the dog demoness had tried to get rid of her.

As Kagura approached Sesshoumaru's room, she was greeted with a sight she would have never expected: Asuka Watanabe-Takahashi was leaning against the door of her son's hospital room, a forlorn expression on her face. The one thing that surprised and really shocked Kagura the most was the unusual shine in the woman's usually cold golden eyes.

"Are you crying?" Kagura gasped incredulously.

Asuka had been too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice the younger woman's approach. However she was not about to be caught off guard, and let Kagura be a witness to her moment of weakness. She quickly rubbed her eyes, pretending to rearrange her makeup. "Of course not you stupid woman."

The fearsome dog demon turned the full force of her hard glare on Kagura. "Go ahead. Gloat! You won. You have Sesshoumaru all to yourself, and wrapped up around your little finger."

Kagura could not help but snort at the other woman's words. "You do realize that winning Sesshoumaru's affections isn't a competition, right?" She then grinned and added. "In truth if you weren't such a bitch, I wouldn't mind sharing him." Of course her remark had the desired effect on Asuka, namely her eyes thinned in pure fury.

"The problem with you," Kagura continued, undeterred by the other woman's fierce glare. "is that you think you can control your son. I know that Sesshoumaru has helped support you forever, but you can't expect to be able to make him do what you want. Especially when it comes to his choice of woman."

Asuka was still reeling from Sesshoumaru's refusal to give her the shares of his company, and having Kagura gloating, and telling her how to handle her son. _'What does she even know about my relationship with Sesshoumaru? ' _The inu youkai thought angrily.

"You and Izayoi believe you have the monopoly of motherly instinct. I love my son, and only want the best for him. All I want is to help him…" Asuka started, but interrupted herself. She would not give Kagura the satisfaction of seeing her breakdown. "I realize now that Sesshoumaru will not get rid of you as I had hoped. I suppose it will be something I will have to live with. However be sure that if you ever hurt him, I will destroy you."

Kagura was nonplused by the opened threat. "I am not scared of you, but you can rest assured. I have no intention of hurting Sesshoumaru in any way. I love with, and I thought I had proved to you that I too only want what's best for him."

"Unless you wish to have to deal with me, things better remain this way. I will keep an eye on the two of you. Tell Sesshoumaru I had to leave to catch my plane. I am going back to Germany where my lover has been waiting for me." The dog demoness raised her head high proudly, and walked away, the resonating sound of her high heels was the only sound in the empty hallway. As she watched the older woman leave, Kagura could not help but notice the aura of sadness emanating from Asuka.

_'I don't know what happened in there with Sesshoumaru, but she looks miserable…' _The wind sorceress opened the door of the hospital room, and stepped in. _'More importantly, why exactly am I feeling so bad for her? She's a horrible person…'_

"You are looking quite thoughtful." Sesshoumaru's voice caused her to come out of her thoughts.

"I ran into your mother outside." Her words caught his attention. He was ready to reassure her in the event his mother had once again said something unkind to her, but before he could, Kagura said something that shocked him. "She was crying in the corridor."

"Preposterous!" Sesshoumaru scoffed. "You must be mistaken. Asuka Watanabe-Takahashi does _not_ cry. She is too cold for such a display of emotion."

Kagura shrugged, and walked closer to her lover. She placed the container full of soup on the side table closest to the bed, and turned her attention back to Sesshoumaru. "I know what I saw. I don't know what you told her, but she really looked miserable."

Kagura opened the soup container, and fished out the spoon she had picked up earlier from the cafeteria. The next thing that came out of the bag was a wad of paper napkins.

"What do you think you are doing?" The dog demon asked in shock as she placed a napkin around his neck.

"Taking care of my future husband. Now open up and let me feed you your soup unless you want me to hurt you. After all I still haven't forgiven you for drugging me, and leaving me behind to go face up with Naraku. I'm pretty sure that had I been there, you wouldn't have gotten shot." She placed the spoonful of warm brown liquid in front of his lips. "Plus you do owe me for standing by your bedside for so many days. Now eat up!"

Sesshoumaru did not really wish to speak about his deception, or his ensuing hospitalization, so he let her have her way for now. He did decide to switch the focus of the conversation.

"Since when do you care about so much about my mother's feelings? I thought you hated her." Sesshoumaru commented after dutifully swallowing the first spoonful of soup.

"Hate? Hum dislike would be a better word." Kagura responded before feeding him some more soup. "I may not like the way she uses you as a personal ATM, but in the past few weeks, I've seen the way she fought for what she believed was your best interest." Sesshoumaru arched a suspicious eyebrow in response. "No really, I do think that in her distorted and slightly foolish way of thinking, she thought she was protecting you." His fiancée added.

"Since when have you become such a connoisseur of people's psychologies?" He asked then frowned when Kagura presented him with one more spoonful. "No more, I am full."

"Okay one last bite." She gently cooed as if talking to Kanna, which of course earned her a sharp glare from Sesshoumaru. He did take the last of the soup as instructed, and was rewarded by a big smile from Kagura. The wind sorceress then put the food away, wiped his mouth, and rid him of the fluffy white napkin before she resumed speaking.

"I might not be a pro of psychology, but I know firsthand a mother who cares for her kid. Plus lately I've found out that with family, things can be more complicated than we might think. I mean look at me and Sakura. I used to hate my mother, and a year ago I never could have imagined her being such an important part of my life."

'_Is the witch comparing our mothers?' _Sesshoumaru incredulously. In his eyes Sakura had fought for years to be reunited with the daughter she loved so much while Asuka had never been bothered to be a true mother to him. "If I understand you well, you wish for me to be… on better terms with my mother." He struggled to put his thoughts into words. The idea of Kagura becoming Asuka's champion was just that ludicrous to him. _'Then again if mother _was _crying as Kagura claimed, I can understand this may have affected her view.'_

"I know she wouldn't get the mother of the year award, but I just feel bad for the old woman."

"Old woman?" Sesshoumaru scoffed. "If mother ever heard you call her that, she would rip your head off with her poisoned claws."

Kagura did not care to comment as she knew his words were true. "She does care for you, and besides we owe her one I guess. If she hadn't given you blood, you wouldn't be here right now." She took a brief pause to think about what she was saying. "Now I don't expect her to join us for dinner on holidays and stuff." A shudder went through her at the idea of having a family dinner with Asuka. "But I think you should talk to her more… apart from the times she calls to ask you for money. Just give her some time to cool off first, she seemed very upset. Besides she is going back to Germany."

"Germany?" The dog demon echoed in surprise. _'Didn't mother say she had broken things up with the baron?' _He recalled that she had thrown in his face earlier that she had refused to reconcile with the wealthy man only so as to stay by his side. _'Why would she lie to Kagura? To protect her pride?' _He could not help but reflect on his mothers unusual behavior. '_Since when do I even wonder about her love life… this is all Kagura's influence.'_

"Fine. You win. You are a terrible influence on me, you have managed to convince this Sesshoumaru to contact my mother." He reached up to press a kiss to his fiancée's cheek, careful not to move his left arm. "Who knew that inside you was hidden a person with such a heart of gold."

"Pfft! Please do not confuse me with Kagome, and the other goody two shoes who try to make everything better for everyone. I only care about you, and our family, so I guess Asuka too by extension." Even as she thought back to the other woman, Kagura could not help but think of how dejected she had looked. "Now, I want to ask you a favor."

He was immediately interested; it was after all very uncommon for Kagura to ask anything of him.

"I want to thank Jakotsu and Bankotsu for helping us get Kanna back safely. I know there is one thing they both would love to see happen, but unlike you, I don't have the connections to make it happen."

"What is it?" He asked. He knew that whatever Kagura would ask of him, he would do his very best to make happen because he loved her so much. And if at the same time making her happy could allow him to repay the debt he owed Bankotsu and Jakotsu then he did not see any reason to turn down her request.

"Jakotsu would love to reconnect with his brother." Kagura sighed as she thought back to her friend's hurtful story. "His father threw him out of the house when he was a teenager only because he was gay. Jakotsu hasn't seen his brother since then, and I know he would love to see him again. Of course if I find out he's a judgmental spineless bastard like their father, I wouldn't let Jakotsu know, but if he's not, then putting them back in touch could be the best thank you we could give him and Bankotsu."

"I see. I am sure this can be arranged. I will have Touran look into it; she is skilled at this kind of things." Sesshoumaru commented even as he thought. _'How could a parent treat their child in such a callous way. Nothing Rin or Kanna could ever do would make me renounce them.'_ He briefly blinked his eyes several times, which caught Kagura's attention.

"I'm sorry honey. I'm talking to you now when you should be resting." She gently pushed his bangs out of his tired eyes before pressing a tender kiss to the crescent adorning his forehead. "You look exhausted, so I'll leave you for now." She left his side, and picked up her purse and coat. "I'll go talk to Suikotsu to find out what he plans to do about your arm." Even as she tried to mask he worry, she could not help but let a small frown crease her forehead.

"Then you'll go home. I am not the only one who needs rest." The definitive tone of his voice let her know this was not up for discussion.

"Alright I'm leaving for home, but I'll be back tomorrow bright and early, so be ready." Kagura bent over her lover's form to press a quick kiss to his lips. "I'm so glad you came back to me. I don't know what I would have done without you; I love you so much."

He reached up with his right arm to gently run his hand against the soft skin of her cheek. "I feel the same wind witch." He whispered tenderly, causing her heart to flutter. He did not often voice his feelings for her, but when he did, she felt like the luckiest woman on the planet.

Kagura reluctantly broke their embrace, and after giving Sesshoumaru's immobile arm one last look, headed for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow." She threw over her shoulder cheerfully. During Sesshoumaru's long coma, every time she had left his room, she had feared this was bound to be the last time she would see the man she loved, but knowing he was going to live was all that mattered to her.

_'He may not be fully healed yet, but having him back means the world to me. Whatever happens, I know we'll be alright.'_

**To be continued…**

A/N: A lot happened. Expected, and not so expected things. I really like the interaction between Asuka and Kagura. I wanted to show there was more to the dog demoness. The next chapter will be the last one (before the epilogue), and it will be aptly named **Tying up loose ends**. I don't know when I'll update next, but I'll try my best not to have you guys wait too long.

In the meantime please check out my newly posted mini story **Secret Lovers**. Here's the summary: **AU **When away on an assignment for the magazine they work for, coworkers Kagura and Sesshoumaru engage in a passionate affair. How will they deal once they get back to their lives? Having a dirty little secret never felt this good. Sessh/Kagura. Rated M for _lots_ of citrus and language.

Thanks for the support!


	89. Tying up loose ends part1

_**Chapter 89: Tying up loose ends (part1)**_

A/N: Wow years in the making, but here it is, the first part of the last chapter (it was too long, so there will be a second part before the epilogue lol).

Thank you guys for the tremendous love and support you've given this fanfiction (and its overwhelmed author)! I want to thank everyone who read and/or put the story on their favorite/alert lists, it is a great honor.

Most of all thanks to my reviewers. You guys encouraged me to with your kind words:

**BlackBurningHeart **

**SamiMac**

**Little25victor **(I have something planned for Jaken. There will be more about Asuka in this one, we'll probe into her feelings more deeply. Fluffy is not going to be on his best behavior indeed, let's just hope it won't come in the way of their happy ending :P. La di da I'm not going to reveal anything about Secret Lovers lol.)

**FluffysPersonalFan (Congrats on leaving the 950th review! *gasp*)**

**BellaDora Soulmates**

**Grammarnazi (x2) **(No worries Kagura is just fine. Also thanks for pointing out my slip up, I fixed it.)

**Roguereader **(Your review touched me to the point of tears. It is always such an honor and a pleasure to hear or rather read how much people love my stories. I also really loved the period of Sessh, Kagura and Kanna learning how to live together. It was lots of fun to write. I'll try to channel that in the upcoming epilogue.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

Sesshoumaru Takahashi was bored. He stared blankly at the white wall opposite the bed he was still confined to as he tightened his hold on the small hand weight with the help of which he was working his injured left arm. He did one last bicep curl, and using his left hand, placed the weight on the bedside table of his hospital room. He was making fast progress with his arm. When he had first awakened from his coma close to a week ago, he had been unable to lift his arm without feeling pain, but now he was able to lift weights with his injured arm. Suikotsu's extensive tests had shown that Naraku's enchanted bullet had caused extensive muscle damage. However Sesshoumaru's body was slowly but surely reconstructing torn muscles and damaged nerves. The dog demon was eager to make the process go faster, and exercised his arm any chance he got despite his doctor's misgivings. He therefore only made extensive use on the weights when Suikotsu and Kagura were not around. This was why right now even if he wanted to keep working on his arm, he knew he had to stop because it was almost time for Kagura's daily visit.

_'This damn arm has yet to function as before.' _He thought angrily and clenched his left hand, not even blinking when his claws dug slightly in the fleshy part of his palm.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door of his much hated hospital room was thrown opened.

"Daddy!"

"Dad!"

He smiled at hearing the usual greeting of his daughters. Rin and Kanna wasted no time climbing up into his bed to give him a firm hug as they had become used to in the past few days. He reached with both arms to caress their heads.

"I think we have to Olympians on our hands. Did you see how they ran up to your room? Soon enough we'll have to make them run track." Kagura chuckled as she walked over to her little family. She leaned down to press a quick peck on her fiancé's lips, Rin and Kanna's delighted giggles resonating in her ears.

"Well they are my nieces." Hakudoushi boasted proudly. He then turned around to look at his older brother, who he was expecting to speak a snarky remark any time soon as per his habit, but to his surprise Byakuya stayed silent. The only sound which escaped his lips was a deep sigh.

"This is so embarrassing are you still not over this woman?" The youngest of the Fujibayashi children said in clear dismay.

"You've obviously never been in love otherwise you would understand the pain I am going through." Byakuya retorted sending his brother a glare with his bright crimson eyes.

"Boys, boys, please don't fight. Now especially." Morio walked further inside the room, and strongly clapped both of his sons on the back. He, his wife, children and granddaughters had come to visit Sesshoumaru, and check on his recovery.

"Yes. Byakuya, Hakudoushi be on your best behavior. Do remember you are now role members for your nieces." Sakura's sweetly spoken words let her sons know that she would not allow them to horse around.

"Don't worry Bya, Ai just isn't the one for you. I'm sure you'll find your one true love one day." Kagura addressed her younger even as her crimson eyes rested on her lover's golden orbs. She smiled faintly, her eyes glimmering in pure love.

Sesshoumaru's golden eyes took in his new and extended family. Only a year ago the thought of having such a large boisterous group crowding around him would have grated on his nerves, but he had learned to appreciate having a family. All thanks to Kagura entering his life.

'_She has even managed to make me improve my relationship with my mother.'_ The dog demon thought to himself as he easily recalled the talk he had had with Asuka Watanabe-Takahashi the day before she had left for Europe.

* * *

***_**'Flashback'*****_

Asuka threw opened the door of her son's hospital room. She strolled in with strength and confidence, her meltdown of the previous day long forgotten.

"Well Sesshoumaru, go ahead, speak what you wanted to tell me. My plane takes off in five hours, and I have some packing left to do." The older woman placed her designer purse and scarf on the end of her son's bed, and stared down into his amber eyes which mirrored hers perfectly. She did not know what her son wanted to talk about, but did not let that shake off her confidence. _'If I allow him to see a crack in my armor, he will take advantage of it.'_

The dog demon finally averted his gaze from his limp left arm to look at his mother. Earlier on today he had sent Jaken to tell the older woman to come see him because he wanted to talk to her. He had not particularly been looking forward to this conversation, but since he had promised his fiancée to make an effort, he was bound to do so.

_'Let us see if Kagura's theory about mother will prove to be right.' _He thought to himself just before speaking. "Kagura told me that she saw you crying in the hallway yesterday."

Asuka's reaction was instantaneous: her face flushed and her eyes thinned in pure anger. "Why that little bitch. How dare she spread such obvious, disgusting lies about one such as…"

Sesshoumaru raised his hand to silence his mother as he really did not want to lay there and listen to Asuka bad mouthing the woman he loved. The fact that she was getting this angry was a pure sign to him that Kagura had been right. _'Now isn't that interesting…'_

"I was lead to believe that my… dismissal of you has brought on your unusual reaction."

Asuka scoffed in mock shock. She hated the fact that she had let Kagura, of all people, see her in such an embarrassing situation. _'I should have expected that damn wind witch to use it against me… but I will not go down this easily.' _

"How ridiculous. Contrary to what she may have you believe, your words do not have the ability to wound me." She lied blatantly, hoping he would not see right through her; unfortunately for her, he did. In fact he did not like to see the closed off look that suddenly came over her.

"In any case I offer my apologies." He may hate having to set his pride aside and apologize to his mother, but he had promised Kagura he would. For some reason unknown to him, she seemed to want to see a reconciliation between him and his mother. _'Kagura never asks for much, I guess I could indulge her in this.'_

Asuka was taken aback by his words. The last thing she had expected was to have Sesshoumaru apologize for his harsh words of the previous day. "Well that is unexpected." She tentatively sat on the bed next to his left arm. "The last thing I would have expected would be an apology. Does that mean you have reconsidered my… hum… proposition?"

"Mother." Sesshoumaru stared deeply in her hopeful golden orbs. "Do not be mistaken. I may have felt… guilt" He struggled to put his feelings into words "about hearing how upset you were yesterday, but I have no intentions of giving you shares of the agency. For some reason Kagura wished for us to reconcile. She believes the family could benefit from the two of us getting along."

"And of course you would do anything for her. Even making up with the mother you despise." She knew she sounded better, and wished that it did not hurt her so much to hear that the only reason why her son was now talking to her was because of Kagura. When Jaken had told her Sesshoumaru wished to see her, Asuka had truly believed her son had reconsidered, and would agree to work together with her.

_'How come is it that my own son would reject me was it not for his fiancée?' _She wondered in complete dismay as pain rippled through her chest.

"I do not despise you." He spoke truthfully, surprise clear in his gaze at seeing she did not seem to believe him. _'We may not be on the best of terms, but I never realized she believed I thought so lowly of her.' _An uncanny feeling of dismay coursing through him.

"So you claim." She retorted dryly. "Well no one could blame you, it is not as if we ever had the warmest relationship." _'Nor have I been the best mother possible.' _After Sesshoumaru's rejection of the previous day, she had gone back to her hotel, and with the help of two bottles of expensive old wine had engaged in some soul searching. As much as she tried pushing all thoughts of the wind sorceress from her mind, the older demoness had not been able to prevent herself from comparing her relationship with Sesshoumaru to the one Kagura had with Kanna and the newly adopted Rin. The fierceness for which she fought for her daughters, and the love she openly and so easily showered on them made Asuka envious. She only wished that she was able to have such a relationship with her son.

'_From the moment he was born, I didn't know how to deal with him. Taisho hired nannies, so I never had to do anything for Sesshoumaru. Unlike my mother I didn't have to spend all my time changing diapers or feeding and entertaining a baby.' _Thinking of her mother, Asuka could not help but feel that in many ways she was similar to Kagura: a hardworking woman willing to do anything for the daughter she loved. Since she did not want to dwell on her feelings for either her long dead mother, or the wind sorceress, Asuka forced herself to reflect back on her son._ 'Then as he grew up Sesshoumaru was a model boy. He never asked me for anything. He became so independent… since he did not need me, I was free to do as I pleased. And when Taisho left me for Izayoi, I wanted to have nothing to do with him or his son. I shut myself away from Sesshoumaru, and distracted myself with spending as much of Taisho's money as I could. By getting back at that cheating bastard, I did not know I would be causing myself pain in return. I drove my own son away from me.' _Asuka felt tears pool in her eyes, but forced herself to hold them back. It was bad enough that Kagura had seen her breakdown, but doing so in front of Sesshoumaru was unthinkable.

His mother was not behaving like herself at all, and Sesshoumaru did not know how to handle it. Their conversations usually followed a simple pattern: she asked him for money, and he gave her less than she requested. However they never discussed their feelings or their complicated relationship as they were doing at the moment.

He attempted to lift himself up to look better in his mother's eyes, but doing so with only one working arm was proving to be harder than he had anticipated. Asuka noticed Sesshoumaru struggling to get his left arm away from her, and her golden eyes thinned in surprise.

"What is wrong with your arm?" For the first time ever the inu youkai sounded genuinely worried, which surprised her son.

"The bullet wound seems to have resulted in some muscle damage." He struggled to clench his fist in a show of anger. "My arm is weaker than it should be, and is paining me." It cost him to admit such a thing to his mother, but since he had sworn to improve their relationship, he decided to be honest.

"What! You are an inu youkai. This wound should have healed a long time ago…" Asuka leaned forward to look at his pale stripped arm. "I knew this doctor of yours could not be trusted. This is it! We are going to go see a specialist."

"Mother. There is no reason to be overdramatic." He sighed. "Besides I will not let you arrange for me to be flown away to some foreign country. I have no intention of deserting my family _again_." He still felt guilty for having stayed in a coma for so long, resulting in his fiancée and daughters being frightened and left alone.

Asuka frowned deeply at seeing her son's reaction. She could understand and respect his need to want to be near his family, but she did not like the fact that he still refused to see a physician other than Suikotsu when in her eyes the young human had proved himself to be lacking.

"If in a week's time you are not improved, then whether you like it or not, I will bring a French surgeon I have heard of to come see you." Asuka returned her son's fierce glare, letting know that she had no intention of taking no for an answer.

"There will be no need for this. I intend to be fully recovered by then." Sesshoumaru lied blatantly. When Suikotsu had stopped by earlier in the day to inform his patient of his arm's condition, the young doctor had pointed out to the dog demon that he did not know how long it would take for his arm to heal completely.

"Good. I am glad to see you have not given up. I would not expect any less from my son."

Sesshoumaru scoffed slightly. This statement resembled more the mother he was used to. Now that they had reached a truce of some sort, he decided to address another thing he had wanted to bring up.

"I will have Jaken bring you a check later on today. It should be enough to cover your expenses for the next six months."

Asuka stared at his son for a long time as she mentally wondered about her next action. "In truth, you have no need to worry. My good friend Hortense has begged me spend the winter at her mansion in the South of France. I simply could not pass up such an opportunity, you know how I hate cold weather."

_'I remember perfectly mother telling me last year that her friend Hortense had moved to India with her husband, and did she not say yesterday that she had reconciled with her German baron?' _The dog demon thought to himself. _'Why would she lie to me?' _He wondered quite puzzled by his mother's behavior. _'Could it be that she does not want me to worry about her…' _The idea that Asuka Watanabe-Takahashi could put him before her own concerns shocked her son. _ 'Then is it possible that the reason she wanted shares in the agency was truly not for the money, but because she genuinely wished to help me?' _He was envisioning a whole new side of the mother he had always believed to be selfish and spoiled, and this shocked him beyond words.

"Nevertheless, I will write you a check. In exchange I would like you to take Jaken along with you wherever it is you are going." _'Mother will not have a way to spy on me anymore, and I in return will have Jaken appraise me of the going-ons in her life.' _He may hate the fact that her mother had made use of his retainer on several occasions to find out things about his private life, but Sesshoumaru was not above returning the favor.

"Ugh do I really have to suffer the inconvenience of the toad's presence?" She asked her son. As much as she was in need of his money to not only pay the hotel room she had been using in town, but also the credit cards she was close to maxing out. Asuka saw the determination burning in her son's eyes, and gave a sigh of defeat; now that the idea had occurred to the young man, he had no intention of letting it go.

"Oh all right. I guess if he gets too annoying I can always send Jaken back to you." She told her son as she thought to herself _'Having a personal retainer to look after me 24/7 might not be that bad actually…'_ She then decided that her first order for Jaken would be to have him finish pack up her trunks. The older demoness had always hated packing up despite her love of travels, and having, and was very much looking forward to having Jaken do it for her. "Well, this is probably the most honest conversation we have ever had. Let's endeavor to do this more often." Asuka stood up from her spot on her son's bed. "Now, I do have a plane to catch."

She picked up her purse and scarf, and walked towards the exit. After opening the door, she then turned around to look at her son lying in the all too white hospital bed.

"Goodbye Sesshoumaru. I do wish you well with that woman of yours." He had not expected Asuka to thank Kagura for intervening on her behalf, but seeing her speak a sentence without insulting his fiancée, or making a mockery of their family brought him relief.

"Goodbye mother. Have a safe trip."

Asuka Watanabe-Takahashi sent her only son a brief smile then left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.

Sesshoumaru had not expected to hear from his mother until she had run out of money, but to his shock she had had a small parcel delivered to his room a few hours after her departure. He had been surprised and amused to see a small hand weight in it. Even if Kagura did not like it, ever since receiving it, the dog demon had started rigorously exercising his injured left arm. Asuka had had also joined to her gift a personal note that was so typical of his mother. _'No son of mine will be left with one working arm. Take care of yourself.'_

_*****'End of Flashback'*****_

* * *

_'This is probably as close to my mother I will ever be.'_ Sesshoumaru's thoughts on his mother were interrupted by the arrival of more people in his hospital room.

"Keh! It's a real party in here." Inuyasha commented as he looked around his brother's hospital room. The young hanyou held his young son in his arms, and had his fiancée walking alongside him.

"We have perfect timing." Kagome agreed while sending a bright smile to her soon to be extended family. Just thinking about her fiancé's expanding family she could not help but run a hand over her large pregnant belly.

"I hope there's still room for more." Miroku called out loudly as he and his girlfriend strolled into the room as well. Sango held a box of chocolates in her hands. She knew that her former boss would not appreciate such a gesture, but hoped Kagura would. She knew how much the young wind sorceress had suffered as of late, and hoped to brighten her up a little bit. Upon seeing how packed the room was, she placed her gift on the nearby table.

"You had no need to come." Sesshoumaru's eyes scanned the faces of all the people present in his hospital room. His sour, annoyed comment went on ignored by everyone except Miroku.

The young human male smiled in the direction of his friend and boss, and gently fanned himself with a thick manila envelope. "Hum does that mean you won't be needing this? And Myouga put in so much effort to get it ready…"

"What is that human talking about?" The ever curious Hakudoushi turned his lavender eyes on his future brother in-law. Sesshoumaru's face had turned into a frown after seeing the envelope. He had been waiting for its contents for a few days, but had not anticipated for Miroku and Inuyasha to come deliver it when so many people were in attendance.

"Keh! What's it to you? Stay out of it kiddo." Inuyasha retorted. Kagura's youngest brother had rubbed him the wrong way ever since he had met him at the Fujibayashi mansion.

Kagome, who had always hated tense situations decided to cut through the obvious tensions rising by bringing up what in the past few months had become a beloved topic of conversation for the people around her: her pregnancy.

"Ah I sure could use some rest. My feet are so swollen." The young dark haired woman walked over to her brother in-law's bed, and sat next to Rin. The young girl looked curiously at Kagome's large abdomen. It was her first time being in such close contact to an expecting mother.

"You can touch it if you want. Contrary to my poor feet, that doesn't hurt." Rin did as told, and her dark eyes sparkling in wonder placed her hand on the growing mound. Not wanting to be outdone, Kanna reached over her father's body to touch the place where her future cousin was growing steadily.

_'Is mommy going to be this big when daddy and she have a baby?' _The young void demoness sent the flat stomach of her unsuspecting mother an interesting look.

Kagura looked at her friend suspiciously. This was the first time she had ever heard Kagome complain about her pregnancy ever since the night she had come to the penthouse seeking solace after finding out about her condition.

_'She's about to start her third trimester, so it's no wonder she's tired. I can remember how exhausted I was towards the end with Kanna. Not that Naraku was making things easy for me.' _Only thought of her pseudo father could still fill her with rage, but she chose to focus on more positive feelings. _'I know that next time will be very different.' _She had seen firsthand how solicitous Inuyasha was towards his Kagome, and Kagura had no doubt Sesshoumaru would be as attentive with her. _'I can't wait for us to add a new member to our family. Now that Naraku is no more, there is no threat hanging over our heads.'_

"Are you alright my dear? Haku, Bya, go get her something to drink and something to snack on." Sakura ordered her two sons. When she noticed Kagome open her mouth to protest, she quickly added. "Don't worry honey, I can remember all too well how tiring a pregnancy can be."

"Now, come on, off with the two of you." Heaving a sigh Hakudoushi and Byakuya did as told by their mother and headed towards the door. Their progression was interrupted by one angry hanyou.

"I can take care of my own wench." Inuyasha sent them a glare chilly enough to rival one of his brother's famous ones. "Keh! Are you hungry?" He then addressed his fiancée.

"Oh no I just wanted to get off my feet." Kagome smiled sweetly at her future husband.

"You have no need to explain yourself Kags, I know how irresistible my Sesshoumaru is. It's no wonder you'd want to cozy up next to him. Just remember he's mine." The wind sorceress smiled when her fiancé arched a thin eyebrow in surprise and amusement. Now that Sesshoumaru was clearly improving, and that Naraku was not here to threaten her family, surrounded by her new found friends and family, the young woman felt free to tease the man she intended to spend her life with.

Kagura's light joke caused Inuyasha to scoff loudly and Kagome to laugh nervously. She had always found Sesshoumaru intimidating, and treasured Kagura too much to want the other woman to mistake her intentions.

"Ah Kagura you're so hilarious!" Kagome laughed a little too loudly. "Besides Inuyasha is all I need." To emphasize her point, she struggled to get off the bed due to her growing abdomen, and walked in the arms of her own fiancé.

"Damn straight." The hanyou beamed proudly, looping a protective arm around the woman he loved.

"You two are so adorable." Miroku gently teased his best friend. "Would you like us to leave you alone." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Before Inuyasha had a chance to snap at him, Sango jabbed him strongly in the ribs. "Do not project your pervert tendencies on my friends; especially in the presence of children." Her chocolate colored eyes darted firstly towards Shippou, who was next to his father, then Rin and Kanna. The two little girls were still sitting next to their own father in his hospital bed.

"What I would appreciate Miroku, would be you getting a certain half dog demon we all know to help a out more with wedding preparations. At the rate things are going, this child is going to enter preschool before his parents are married." Kagome sighed, a frown marring her usually cheerful face.

"You couldn't expect me to think about your wedding ceremony when my brother was in the hospital. The bast… jerk getting shot forced me to take on more responsibilities at the agency." Inuyasha quickly defended himself.

Sesshoumaru scoffed at his younger half brother's words. "Inuyasha, when will you stop blaming your inabilities and shortcomings on this Sesshoumaru."

Kagura would have smacked her fiancé, and asked him to play nice, but the glint of pleasure present in the amber eyes of both brothers did not go unnoticed by her. _'I guess things are getting back to normal. This is just the way these two will always be…'_

"_Your_ wedding?" Kagome echoed, her thoughts not travelling upon the same road as her future sister in-law. "I didn't know I was marrying myself." Shippou, Hakudoushi and Miroku snorted in unison, earning each of them a scowl and a glare from Inuyasha.

"Feh! Why are you always twisting everything I say wench?"

"Because you talk like an insensitive jerk." Kagome countered.

"All this talk of marriage, love and pregnancies is getting me even more depressed than before. All you guys did was remind me that Ai dumped me." Byakuya sighed mournfully.

"Can't say I'm surprised seeing how you're just mopping around all the time." His brother quipped in response.

"Ugh! You two are behaving worse than children." Morio shook his head in dismay. He was embarrassed to see his sons behaving so badly in the presence of the recovering Sesshoumaru and his friends and family. "Byakuya." He turned towards his eldest son. "Ai did not break up with you since the two of you never even went on a date." His plain statement of the truth caused his first son to sigh even deeper, and the second one to snicker. "And you Hakudoushi, need to adjust your attitude towards others. Don't think you're too old to get a spanking." This time around it was Byakuya who let out an amused snort.

Sakura sighed upon hearing her husband put their sons back in their place. _'I really cannot take these guys out anywhere.'_ The door of the hospital room was thrown opened, and the void demoness smiled. _'What a perfect timing for a distraction!'_

When Suikotsu came in to look in on his most important patient, he had not expected to see his room be this full. Whispering apologies as he bumped against different bodies, Suikotsu managed to slither through the crowd of people to reach his patient's bedside.

The young human doctor turned towards "I'm sorry to disturb everyone, but I'll have to cut the visit short. I need to check on Sesshoumaru."

"Just as well, we were about to take off. Inuyasha, Shippou and are going to meet up with Ji-chan to talk about the wedding." Kagome smiled happily. Now that Kanna was back with her family and Sesshoumaru had awakened from his coma, the preparations for her upcoming wedding had resumed, and she couldn't be happier. "We were just stopping by to see how Sesshoumaru was doing."

"Which was unnecessary." Her brother in-law to be interjected. His response caused Kagome to pout slightly, and Inuyasha to chuckle.

"Don't tell me you're hurt by his words. You know that my brother is an insensitive assh… jerk." Inuyasha quickly amended when he remembered who was standing next to him. In order to help her fiancé get rid of his potty mouth, Kagome had put in place a system in which each time he cursed, Inuyasha had to pay their son.

"I guess that's one dollar less into my pocky found." Shippou lamented his father's newfound ability to control his language.

"Feh! You're not going to get any more money out of me, you little runt."

Shippou grinned in response to his father's boast. "You called me a runt, that's five dollars for me."

Inuyasha pretended not to have heard his son's reminder that calling him a 'runt' had been forbidden by Kagome as well. "Come on wench, your gramps must be waiting for us. See ya later Sesshoumaru." Dragging along his fiancée and son, Inuyasha made a swift exit.

"You should do the same Miroku. I do not pay you to stand around." Sesshoumaru said in comment to his brother's departure.

"Your wish is my command boss. I believe I am entitled to a lunch break, so before going back I'll be taking my beautiful girlfriend on a celebratory lunch." Despite his easygoing smile, he sent his boss a hard meaningful glance when he placed the heavy envelope on the side table next to the box of chocolates Sango had brought.

"What exactly will we be celebrating?" Sango asked her boyfriend as she allowed him to loop his arm around hers.

"The fact that I am madly in love with you of course." He picked up her hand to give it a chaste kiss. Considering that they were surrounded by Kagura's family he contented himself with that even if he was burning to have another taste of her delicious lips. _'Well there's plenty of time for that after lunch.'_

Sango blushed. She loved her Miroku, but was still struggling to get used to his fondness for public displays of affection. "Goodbye everyone, I hope you make a full recovery Sesshoumaru." On this note the young woman and her lover left the hospital room.

"Ah love if only…" Byakuya started, but his exasperated brother interrupted him.

"Ah I believe we should take our leave a well." Hakudoushi suggested, hoping his parents would agree.

"Alright, let me take you home." Morio shook his head in dismay before clapping his eldest son on the back. He who until he had met his wife had been a real Casanova could not understand how his son could turn out to be so overly emotional after being turned down by one woman.

"Hum I believe this would be for the best. Kagura, do you want me to take the girls home for now?" Sakura asked her daughter.

"No, please!" Kanna protested as she clung to her father's arm.

"Can we stay longer?" Rin asked politely.

Kagura pondered on her mother's question and her daughters' plea. Just as she was about to let them know her decision, Suikotsu intervened.

"Not to worry girls. Soon enough you'll have your daddy all to yourselves. I believe that in a day or two he'll be able to go back home." The young doctor smiled at seeing the joy plainly displayed on the girls' faces. "That is if Kagura agrees to keep a close eye on him."

"You know I will." The wind sorceress vowed, her love filled gaze locking on the object of her affections.

"That's marvelous! Come on girls, we have lots of work to do on the penthouse before your dad comes back home." Sakura headed for the bed, and in a few moments held both Kanna and Rin holding on to her two hands.

"Work?" Sesshoumaru echoed. He did not like the idea of his would be mother in-law going into his house to arrange things to her liking.

"It's a surprise daddy!" Rin smiled broadly in his direction, displaying a missing tooth.

He raised an eyebrow in surprise, ready to question his daughters further, but Kanna intervened before he could. "We can't tell you or it's not a surprise anymore."

Since he could not argue with their logic, he simply smiled. '_Besides I am sure any change they make can be undone if it is not to my liking.'_ He reasoned with himself. He was just glad to know he would be getting home soon.

Kagura smiled blissfully at seeing the happiness shinning in her family members. _'Soon everything will be as it should have been from the start.' _

"I'll go downstairs with you guys while Suikotsu looks over Sesshoumaru." The wind sorceress addressed her mother and daughters. "I have to talk to Mukotsu anyways." This time around she turned towards her fiancé. The previous day Sesshoumaru had written her a check to give to Mukotsu in payment for his services. When she had seen the amount scribbled on the check, she had been astounded, but as her dog demon lover had pointed out to her, the pudgy human had saved his life, and a price could not be put on that.

Sesshoumaru nodded back at Kagura as he suspected the reason why she wanted to speak with the potion master.

"Good all's settled. Can we go now?" Hakudoushi sighed in exasperation.

"Fin, fine. We're leaving." Hearing and seeing his son's reaction, Morio sighed as well, but in annoyance. He placed a big hand on both of his son's shoulders, and steered them towards the exit.

"All right girls, kiss your dad goodbye, and we'll go work on our surprise." Sakura let go of her granddaughters' hands, and both little girls reached up to press a kiss on their father's stripped cheek. Giggling over their little secret, Sakura, Rin and Kanna followed after their three mal family members, and left as well.

"Kagura." Sesshoumaru asked after everyone else had left. "What exactly are they planning."

The wind sorceress chuckled at seeing the expectant look in his eyes. "I'm not going to let you know. Don't worry, it's nothing too drastic." She blew him a kiss, and left the room before he could question her further.

Suikotsu chuckled at seeing the slight scowl on his patient's face. The doctor's reaction caused the scowl to deepen. "Just get on with this." The dog demo raised his left arm for Suikotsu's closer inspection. He wanted the other man to finish checking on the progress of his arm before Kagura came back. He had business to address with his fiancée, and did not want any witnesses.

_'I hope that Kagura will take this news well.' _He thought worriedly as his amber eyes rested on the thick envelope Miroku had left on the table for him.

* * *

Touran looked one more at the address scribbled on the piece of paper clutched in her clawed hand.

"Yep, here it is." She muttered to herself. The young demoness opened the door of her car, and got out in a swift motion. In a matter of minutes she had crossed the small residential street, and was standing in front of a typical white picket fence suburban house.

_'Why would anyone ever want to live in such a depressing place?' _The young woman had always lived in suburban areas, and could not imagine living away from the fast paced city life. After all she did rely on it in order to get the information needed for her line of work. Greasy shady bars were often full of people willing to spill their guts for enough money, or a few drinks.

_'Hopefully this guy will be just as forthcoming when it comes to giving me the information I need.' _Touran mentally went over the information she had on the young man she was going to speak to. _'Divorced father of a six year old son. Boring accountant living a boring life in the boring suburbs…' _

Upon reaching the blue painted front door of the house she had been looking for, she wasted no time ringing the bell repeatedly. Her keen ears heard a shuffling noise on the other side of the door before it was thrown opened.

"Hello! Who are you?" A young brown eyed and brown haired boy asked looking up at her.

Before she had a chance to answer, loud steps came from inside the room. "Jin-chan! How many times have I told you not to open the door?" An older version of the little boy appeared in front of Touran.

"My name is Touran, and I have a few questions for you." She told the man, who she recognized as being her target from the pictures she had encountered during her research. _'Hum he doesn't look as boring in person.' _Her sharp pale blue eyes lowered to his lean hips encased in a pair of well worn jeans.

"No thank you." The man responded as he pushed his son behind him, and readied himself to close the door.

"Do you know a man named Jinsei?" Her simple question caused the man to pale considerably and halt all movement.

"Dad, how did she know my name?" The boy piped up from behind the man's larger form.

"Jin, go in the kitchen to get a snack… Miss Touran and I are going to talk." He knew his voice was shaky, but did his best to sound as normal as possible not to upset his young child.

"Awesome!" Jin exclaimed before scampering towards the kitchen to get cookies before his father changed his mind. It was after all very rare that his dad would allow him to eat in between meals.

"He's gone now, we can talk… What about my brother is he… is Jinsei alright?" The young father ran a tongue over his suddenly dry lips. He had longed for an answer to this question for so long, that the prospect of finally finding about his younger brother's fate scared him.

"Well Mister Akio, your brother now goes by Jakotsu, and he has done quite well for himself."

"Oh thank God!" Akio Sato was overcome by such relief that he could almost feel his knees buckle with relief. "Where is he? I need to see him."

The more Touran looked at the man Sesshoumaru had charged her with finding the less she believed he was related to the flamboyant Jakotsu. _'These two brothers are as opposite as possible… not unlike Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha…' _

"Well that would depend entirely on you." Touran smiled broadly, revealing her sharp fangs. As fun as toying with the distraught human male might be, she knew that she had to follow her boss's plan sharply.

**To be continued…**

A/N: As I said before there was just too much stuff I wanted to include in the last chapter, and had no choice, but to cut it in two. Part two will be available soon enough. Then there will be the much awaited epilogue. There's still some drama to come _**Tying up loose ends (Part 2).**_


	90. Tying up loose ends part2

_**Chapter 90: Tying up loose ends (part2)**_

A/N: It's here the final chapter (before the epilogue). Let's finish with a bang, so I hereby issue a **Lemon Alert!** It will be the last one, so enjoy my dears.

Thank you my dear reviewers:

**BlackBurningHeart **

**SamiMac**

**KikyoisaBYOTCH**

**Little25victor **(You will find out about the girls' plan for Sesshy penthouse. Don't know if he'll approve. Touran might change her mind about Akio indeed *wink wink*. And yes there will be a reunion scene, so enjoy.)

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

Kagura Onigumo, soon to be Takahashi, sauntered happily towards the highest floor of Suikotsu's clinic. She was coming up from the parking lot where she had parted ways with her parents, brothers and daughters.

_'I just need to take care of that little errand, then I can go back to Sesshoumaru.' _The fact that her fiancé had just been told by his doctor that he would be allowed to go back home soon caused a sense of relief, pleasure and overwhelming happiness to run through her. _'Soon enough everything will be back to normal.'_

Her train of thoughts was interrupted when she reached the room she had come to know as Mukotsu's lab. It had been given to the small pudgy man by his friend as a place to exercise his potion making craft.

The wind sorceress knocked on the door, and it was immediately opened as if the person on the other side had been waiting for her.

"Hello." She greeted cheerfully as she entered the lab. She was expecting her nose to be assaulted by the strong smells emanating from the many plants and bubbling pots surrounding Mukotsu's working area, but to her surprise there was only a residual smell about. Her crimson eyes quickly scanned the room, and she noticed that unlike before the lab was clean, and void of Mukotsu's instruments.

The smaller human man observed Kagura with his swollen eyes as she looked around what had been his working area in the past few weeks.

"I am leaving." He informed her once he noticed she was done with her inspection.

"What? Already?" She gasped in shock. She had expected for the small man to stick around for a while longer in case Sesshoumaru had some sort of relapse, suffered from another migraine, or would be needing his help for his arm.

"I have done what I expect to be paid for. The contract has been fulfilled." Mukotsu retorted as he finished packing up his backpack with the last of his things.

"About your money, here." She handed him the check Sesshoumaru had written earlier. Upon seeing the exorbitant amount of money written on it, he did not act surprised one bit, and simply placed the piece of paper in a pocket hidden in the folds of his white clothing.

Mukotsu did not express any form of gratitude, but handed two things to Kagura. One was a piece of paper with handwriting scribbled on it, and the other one was a large jar of what she knew to be the potion the young human had used on Sesshoumaru to help with his blood poisoning.

"What is this?" The wind sorceress asked even as she took the two objects from him.

The ugly man sent her a wide smile, displaying his lack of teeth. "Gifts. I wrote down the recipe and the needed elements to make the potion, and in the jar I put the last of the batch I had made earlier."

"Thank you… do you expect Sesshoumaru to make some sort of relapse?" She asked cautiously as she lowered her crimson eyes to the two things in her head. Her nose slightly wrinkled due to the strong pungent smell coming from the jar in her hands. Despite the glass the strong scent was still emanating from the container.

"Not really. The potion can be kept for a long time without spoiling." Then as Kagura sent him a confused look, he added. "It is for you." He could not prevent a small blush from staining his cheeks as he felt slightly embarrassed.

"For me?" She echoed, her curiosity piqued.

"When you get with child from that dog demon of yours, drink a glass of the potion every day. According to my predictions it will prevent your child from suffering from the issues linked to the poison in that youkai's blood. The child should be spared from the ailments his sire has suffered from all his life."

Upon hearing Mukotsu's words, Kagura placed a hand on her lower abdomen. _'I never even thought about how our future children could be affected by Sesshoumaru's blood condition.' _The young demoness brought the brown liquid filled jar closer to her eyes. _'I guess this can really help our babies from suffering the way Sesshoumaru has. That Mukotsu is quite smart from a small pudgy man.' _Then as the fact that the potion master had thought about her intimate life with Sesshoumaru caused her to blush slightly in return.

"I don't know how to thank you for this. You didn't have to." She smiled slightly at the other man.

"I would appreciate… a hug." Mukotsu turned completely red upon his admission. It had been so long since a woman had allowed him to come close to her.

In a regular situation, Kagura would not have even entertained the thought of his request, but considering that the other man had saved her fiancé's life, and had probably just spared her future child or children a lifetime of grief, she found herself to be more lenient. After all she had nursed Sesshoumaru through one of his migraines on several occasions, and knew firsthand how much he suffered because of the poison in his blood.

_'Not to mention that it almost killed him…' _She shivered upon remembering the coma he had been plunged into. _'We do owe Mukotsu a lot. A debt money could never repay, so what's a hug?'_

Before she could change her mind, or lose her nerve, she launched herself towards the shorter man, and held him in a hug. She mentally counted until three, then started retreating. Not content with the short contact, Mukotsu encircled her slim body with his short arms, not willing to release her just yet.

"Okay enough now. I have to go back to Sesshoumaru."

Her naming her fearsome dog demon fiancé was incentive enough to have Mukotsu release her. A blush still burning brightly on his cheeks, he retreated to the table where he had left his backpack. He hurriedly placed in it the rest of his things, and placed the sack on his back. Once he also placed the white veil over his face, he felt more like himself, and only then did he dare look back at Kagura.

"I will go now." Without so much as a goodbye, the potion master ran out of the room.

"Well that was strange…" Kagura thought to herself as she clutched Mukotsu's gifts closer to her chest.

* * *

Touran burrowed her back deeper in the plush couch she was seated on. She quickly evaluated the room she was seating in with her pale blue eyes, and was impressed by what she was seeing.

_'At least he has a taste for interior design…' _The young demoness rested her eyes on the bold colorful painting hung on the wall across from her while she waited for the return of her host.

"Jin won't disturb us, he's busy with his video games." Akio announced as he placed a cup of tea in front of his unexpected guest. He sat across from the young beautiful woman, and did his best to keep his apprehension and trepidation in check.

Touran took the time to drink a few sips of her hot tea before resting the full force of her gaze on the man she had come to see.

"I don't mean to rush you or anything… but you said you would tell me about my brother."

She drank a bit more of her tea before answering. "Well, as you know, Jakotsu… or Jinsei as you know him, has been hurt in the past _badly_, and the man who has hired me to find you wants to make sure he will not be once again.

"So, you're not here on my brother's behalf?" The young male accountant asked, his brown eyes thinning with suspicion

"Not exactly, but I do know where he is. The information will be passed on to you as soon as I've determined that you're worthy of it." Touran announced to the dark eyed man.

"Don't fuck with me!" Akio jumped to his feet in an unusual show of anger. "I have been worried sick about my brother for the past thirteen years. I've looked for him without success, and didn't even know if he was alive or not…" He forced himself to calm down as the last thing he wanted was to lose control in front of the mysterious demoness who had just showed up at his doorstep.

_'So he does have a backbone after all.'_ She grinned at seeing Akio's reaction to her words. "Are you willing to accept Jakotsu in any ways?"

"Of course. He's my brother… I may have failed him in the past, but I have no intention of doing so again." The clear resolve burning in his dark chocolate eyes was all the confirmation Touran needed.

_'He seems sincere, not to mention that he did name his son after Jakotsu.'_ The young woman thought to herself as she made the decision to bring Akio over to his brother's home. _'It will be sure to be some emotional reunion. I wonder why Sesshoumaru wanted to get involved with this whole overdramatic situation… it probably must be Kagura's influence. Ever since she has entered his life he has turned into a real sop. Not unlike that Akio guy.'_

Touran took a quick minute to think about the former Sesshoumaru, the one she had had a sexual relationship with. Only a year ago she knew the dog demon would never have bothered with trying to help a friend reconcile with his brother. _'Sometimes I miss that guy, but I have to admit that he's been treating me better as of late.'_

"Okay. I'll take you to him. Is there any place you can dump your kid? I'm sure you don't want to have him underfoot during your little emotional reunion with your brother." Touran stood up as well as she did not like the feeling of having the tall and lean human towering over her.

Akio suddenly felt faint. He had wanted to hear from Jinsei in so long, and as of late had even resigned himself never to see his brother again, but now a mysterious demoness was presenting him with a golden opportunity. _'I just hope she is telling the truth.'_

"I can drop Jin at my neighbor's house. She'll look after him." He managed to let out through his constricted throat.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Touran headed towards the exit of the living room, and Akio was following faithfully behind her.

* * *

Kagura walked back to Sesshoumaru's hospital room, her head still full of Mukotsu's words. In the past few months she had thought of having more children with Sesshoumaru; especially when she had had a pregnancy scare a few weeks after they had reconciled. However now that she had almost lost her lover, there was nothing she wanted more than to actually start living her life with the man she loved without fear. The visit of the engaged and heavily pregnant Kagome earlier in the day had only made Kagura realize how much she wanted what her friend had. She briefly blinked, and her mind was suddenly filled with images of a silver haired, crimson eyed infant. _'I want to have another baby.' _She thought to herself as she opened the door of the hospital room, and walked in.

"You were gone a long time." Sesshoumaru commented as he put away his hand weight as discreetly as possible.

Had Kagura's thoughts not been consumed with her recent realization, she would have scolded him for exercising his injured arm again. Instead she smiled happily at him, and walked closer to his bed. "Did you miss me?" She leaned down to press a quick kiss to his lips.

He did not bother answering her question as he was aware she knew all too well the answer to it. Instead he asked her a question of his own. He knew he had an important issue to broach with his fiancée, but was still unsure of the best way to approach it. "What is this?" With his chin he pointed towards the smelly jar she had just walked over to the furthest table to place.

Kagura helped herself to one of the chocolates Sango had brought earlier before answering. "A parting gift from Mukotsu. It's the last of the potion he made. He also gave me the recipe, so we'll be able to make more when needed." She answered before engulfing one more sweet brown square. She had purposely placed the foul smelling jar on a surface as far away from Sesshoumaru's sensitive nose as possible.

"I take it you gave him the check."

"Yep, and he already left." She informed him, deciding that as of right now he had no need to know about the new use Mukotsu had given her for his potion. The wind sorceress discarded her light jacket, and once more walked towards the bed to sit next to her lover. Sesshoumaru moved to the side to give her more space, which she gladly took.

"Anyways, are you planning on telling me what's in that envelope Miroku brought you?" The look the young purple eyed human and his boss had shared had not gone unnoticed by the wind sorceress, and something told her that whatever Sesshoumaru was trying to hide did not bode well for her.

The dog demon let out an uncharacteristically heavy sigh as he reached over Kagura to pick up the envelope from the bedside table. He then took out the documents from the manila material, and handed them to his fiancée. Kagura looked them over, but was not entirely sure she understood the meaning of the legal papers she was holding.

He noticed the surprise in Kagura's eyes, and did not waste any time explaining everything to her. "I have told you before that I wanted to transfer some of the shares of the agency to the girls, and put them under your supervision until they came of age. I know you had expressed a wish to wait until we get married to sign any papers, but as recent events have demonstrated things don't always go on as planned. I would therefore feel relieved if you signed this."

"I do remember." She struggled to let out. One thing she did recall was that by refusing to sign some papers he had presented to her a few weeks ago she had had to contend with his mother preventing her to see him. _'At the time it felt to me as if signing these papers was taking money from him… after the life I have lived because of Naraku the last thing I could ever want would be to feel bought.'_

"I am aware this can seem a bit… intimidating." He said referring to the fact that she would be a board member of his company, and would have voting rights. "But it will be for the best of our family. Besides I really need your help. You are the only one I can trust to own so much of my company. I do not know if I have mentioned it before, but until someone takes ownership of the shares Kanzaki had to give up, the board cannot vote, and the agency can therefore not move forward. Things are stuck in a gridlock."

_'Sesshoumaru never asks me for anything, so the least I could do is help him out. Not to mention that he's right, it will be good for the girls to have something to fall back on… just in case.' _Sesshoumaru being shot by Naraku, and being plunged in a long coma had only made her realize that the dog demon was not immortal, and could be taken away from them at any time. _'Besides I've proved my love for Sesshoumaru. No one could ever accuse me of being a gold digger. I know now that taking money from Sesshoumaru, or assuring that the girls will have a financial safety net does not in any way resemble the work I used to do for Naraku. I love Sesshoumaru, and he loves me. We're supposed to support each other anyway we can, and that involves financially. I said I wanted to move forward, and this involves trusting Sesshoumaru, and not being afraid of his money.'_

"Do you have a pen?" Her question surprised the dog demon. He had spent the most of his day trying to figure out the best way to make Kagura agree to sign the papers that would not only put her in charge of shares of her company, but also make her, Rin and Kanna his sole heirs; her sudden easy acceptance therefore surprised him.

_'Maybe I should get shot more often…' _He thought, a smile tugging at his lips.

He plunged his clawed hand inside the thick manila envelope, and was not surprised to find a pen in it. Miroku might be a lecher, but when it came to work, he did things most thoroughly. One thing that did surprise him was the fact that his fingers brushed against a small metallic object. _'Those two idiots are more effective than I suspected.'_ He thought about his two closest collaborators.

With a trembling hand, and a stomach in knots, the wind sorceress signed each piece of paper. Once it was done, she smiled broadly at her fiancé, and exclaimed "It's all done!"

"You have changed." He commented as he placed the papers back in the envelope before tossing it over to a side table. Now that he did not have Jaken to run errands for him, he would have to contend himself with having Inuyasha or Miroku come pick up the documents and turn them in to Myouga as soon as possible. He decided not to reveal the little surprise he had had Inuyasha and Miroku assist him with.

"How so?" Kagura questioned defensively.

Sesshoumaru softly trailed a finger along her stubborn jaw. "You have become more trusting." His word of praise caused her to smile warmly.

"Only of you honey. I can assure you I'm still a mean bitch when it comes to other people." Her answer made the two of them chuckle slightly in mirth. The wind sorceress knew her words to be true. Being raised by Naraku, she had not grown up learning how to trust others, but Sesshoumaru had proved himself more than deserving of her love and trust on several occasions, and she had no intention of questioning that. _'Naraku is my past. He cannot hurt me or Kanna anymore. Our future is with Rin and Sesshoumaru: our family.' _Thoughts of the bright future which was sure to await them made her think back to her earlier discussion with Mukotsu and the thought that had occurred to her earlier, and would not leave her mind.

The young woman gently ran her hand along the part of Sesshoumaru's arm left bare by his hospital gown. When he did not respond to her gentle touch, she became more bold, and reached under the blanket. She grinned when she found the hem of his hated hospital gown, and plunged her hand under it to run her palm over the bare skin of his leg. Soon enough she raised her hand to touch his underwear clad thigh. This time around, to her delight, he let out a deep growl.

"Witch, are you trying to entice me? If I recall correctly, the last two times I saw you wearing this dress, we made love." His golden eyes lowered to the purple material hiding her beloved forms from his adoring gaze.

Kagura was amazed to see he had such a good memory. When they had gone on vacation at the beach house, and had made love on the balcony of their room, she had indeed been wearing the purple dress she had on now. Later on when she had brought lunch to Sesshoumaru in his office, and they had made love on both his desk and the plush carpet, she had indeed been wearing the garment again. At the present moment she was wearing the dress yet again, but coupled with a light sweater and a pair of leggings as the weather had turned quite chilly as of late.

She blushed slightly, but retorted with a saucy grin, never stopping her gentle caress of his thigh. "Maybe I am…" Before she had the chance to realize what was happening, Sesshoumaru used his weak arm to bring her closer, and had fastened their lips in a hard kiss. Soon enough their tongues were melted in a passionate tangle. The dog demon could taste the chocolate she had just eaten in her kiss, and this only made her sweeter to him.

"It is a pity to see all of my work of the past year has amounted to naught." He sighed once they lips parted before tracing Kagura's jaw with little kisses.

"What do you mean?" He smiled upon hearing her confused retort.

"I will have to try to fatten you up all over again. You have lost a lot of weight in the past few weeks." As if to emphasize his point, he gently poked her in the ribs. He made light of an issue he did not find funny at all in the hopes not to offend his fiancée. He could still remember when Kagura had entered his life how skinny and battered she had been. He had seen her in the past year blossoming into a beautiful confident woman, the woman he loved.

_'The reason why she has lost so much weight lately is because she stayed by my side to watch over me. Suikotsu told me how she has been neglecting herself.' _His anger over his hospitalization resurfaced again. _'As soon as we get back home, I will take care of her again, and everything will be as it should be.'_ Thinking about their future life made him amorous, and he once again took her lips in a sensual deep kiss.

"Well I know a way to speed up that process." She said breathlessly once he broke their kiss to allow her to breathe. She was glad to have been provided a perfect transition towards what she wanted to discuss with her lover. "I've been thinking." Even if he suspected that nothing good could probably come of a conversation which started in such a way, he let her go on. "I want to get off birth control… what I mean is that I want to have…"

"No." Without giving her the chance to finish her sentence, or explain herself, Sesshoumaru pushed himself away from her face. His simple, cold answer felt as if he had stabbed her in the heart.

"You don't want to have a baby with me?" She asked recoiling from his embrace, this time breathless due to shock and pain.

"You know I do." He stared down in her pained crimson eyes. "But not in these conditions. We have come up with a plan, and I intend to stick to it. When you have graduated from college, and start the career you wanted, then we will talk about adding to our family."

She knew that there was truth in his words. They had agreed to wait to have another child as they did not want a baby to interfere with her getting the education she had so wanted.

"Where is this even coming from?" Sesshoumaru gently asked his young fiancée. "I thought we had already made a decision on the subject."

"I don't know, I just…" She started, and paused to let out a sigh. "I've been thinking this whole time you've been in the hospital, and…"

Sesshoumaru interrupted her with a brief sweet kiss. After hearing her words, it had not taken him long to figure out what had warranted her sudden wish for a child.

"I know you were scared Kagura, but you cannot let fear dictate our lives. I can assure you I have no intention of going anywhere; we have no need to rush things. Besides I would like to have Rin and Kanna get used to being sisters before we give them a younger sibling."

She was surprised to see how easily he had seen through her and her desire. He was of course right in assuming that the fact that she had almost lost her fiancé was the driving force behind her desire to have a child now. While Sesshoumaru had been in a coma, she had done her best to ignore her fears because thinking of losing him was unbearable. She had therefore put herself on the backburner to devote herself to his recovery. Then after he had awakened, she had had no chance to think of her own feelings as she had had to worry about his injured arm, deal with his mother and take care of the girls. However now that she could focus on herself, she could only think about how much she wanted to put all of these bad things behind her, and move on with her life.

_'Sesshoumaru is right… I shouldn't let my fears get the best of me. I was the one who wanted to go to school, and have my own career… Just because I am scared of losing Sesshoumaru, I shouldn't just push my dreams away.' _The wind sorceress thought to herself. Even while she had been caged by Naraku, she had never lost the hope of one day being able to have an education, have a real professional career and make something out of herself. _'Just because I decide to pursue a career doesn't mean we can't have another child later on. I know I can do both, have a job, and a happily family with Sesshoumaru.' _

"Of course you're right." She admitted with a sigh. "You always know better than I do what I think about, or what would be better for me." She leaned back against him, and placed her head on his shoulder.

"It is a good thing then that I will always be here to steer you in the right direction then." He gently teased her.

She scoffed at hearing his words, but was reassured at the idea of having him by her side forever. She left his embrace to tug a strand of his long silver hair. "Don't think you can tell me what to do."

"I have no need to talk when I can just seduce you into doing whatever I desire." He grinned as he pounced on his beloved wind sorceress. She could tell his arm was doing much better when the dog demon managed to move as quickly as usual. In a flash, he had her pinned under his body as his lips were fastened with hers in a deep kiss. Kagura, who did not mind being seduced, reached up to run her hands over his body. Because of Kanna's abduction, and Sesshoumaru's ensuing wound and coma, it had been a long time since the two of them had been intimate. Only thinking about how long it had been since she had seen Sesshoumaru's bare body, Kagura could not wait to undress him. She trailed her hands down his back, and stilled completely when she encountered something unexpected.

Before she could help herself, Kagura broke their kiss to explode in a fit of laughter. Her reaction was due to the fact that her deft fingers had run into the opening in the back of Sesshoumaru's hospital gown. She knew that he hated the garment, but it was clinic regulation for patients to wear such gowns. Since Kagura had refused to bring her fiancé any kind of clothes except for underwear, he had had no choice but wear the hated gowns with the opening in the back. Had he not gotten rid of Jaken, he would have had the imp bring him fresh clothing.

"You should bring this back home; it's very sexy." She buried her hand inside the opening of his gown, and looped a finger into the band of his underwear.

Sesshoumaru growled in warning at the woman into who's eyes he was staring down into. "For this ridiculous statement, you deserve to be punished." As soon as the words left his mouth, he sat up to raise himself on his knees in his narrow hospital bed with the clear intent of making Kagura pay for her mocking words.

She shivered upon seeing the cold fire burning in his strong amber gaze. He did not bother to speak another word as he implemented his revenge. His movements were slow and sensual yet effective. Before she had a chance to form any kind of protest he had rid her of her boots, socks and leggings. His hand then travelled under her purple dress up her bare legs, but, to her regret, stopped just short of touching her black underwear. Instead the dog demon reached up to unbutton her dress before raising it over her body and head, and throwing it over the bed. He silently cursed the many layers she had bundled herself in, and discarded the light gray sweater which came in between her breasts and his eyes and touch. The sight of Kagura lying back in the bed he had been confined to for so long, wearing only a lacy black bra and matching panties caused his heartbeat to quicken and desire to flood through his body. He undid her messy ponytail, causing her dark hair to fall around her shoulders. Even if his left arm was doing better, he still favored the right one, and using his right clawed hand, he gathered her dark mane, and pushed it over her left shoulder, giving him free access to the creamy skin of her right shoulder.

"Sessh…" She started to form a protest, but he ignored her, preferring instead to press a warm kiss to the crook of her neck, which he had just revealed to his gaze. When he gently nibbled on her soft sensitive skin she could not repress a shiver. He kissed his way down to her shoulder to her right bra strap, and pushed down the black strip of lacy cloth.

Sesshoumaru Takahashi knew he would not be satisfied with little kisses and caresses nor would his fiancée be. He therefore unclasp her bra, and got rid of it in the same manner he had her previous articles of clothing; by throwing it over the bed. If Kagura had any thought of protesting again, they quickly escaped her head when Sesshoumaru leaned down to take her left nipple in his mouth.

"Sesshoumaru." She moaned appreciatively when with his right hand he reached up to gently fondle her neglected breast.

He would have liked to spend more time on her two mounds, but knew that he needed to move forward. After all his own body was raging with arousal.

"No." She weakly protested when he left her breasts, causing him to chuckle.

"Do not fret witch. When has this Sesshoumaru failed to pleasure you?" His stating the obvious caused her to blush a pretty pink color. After all they both knew that even if she had had many bed partners in the past, Sesshoumaru had been the one to initiate her to the pleasures of love making.

True to his word, he divested her of her underwear, and revealed her to his loving gaze. Not being one to waste time, he immediately went to work, and pressed a long opened mouth kiss to her womanhood. She moaned and arched her back as pure pleasure assaulted her nerves. While her continuous wiggling motions and thrashing gave him a clear indication that she was thoroughly enjoying his attentions, it was also making his task more difficult. Sesshoumaru had therefore no choice, but to strengthen his hold on Kagura's thighs, keeping them pinned down and opened to his ministrations. He doubled his efforts, and gently suckled at her inner pearl, intensifying her pleasure. She buried her hands in his long silver mane, bringing him closer to herself, and blocking him in place. Not that he had any intention of going anywhere.

She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from screaming out. The room next to Sesshoumaru's was unoccupied, but she knew that a loud lustful shout could attract the attention of one of the nurses patrolling the floors, and the last thing the wind sorceress could ever want would be to be caught in such a compromising situation: she lying on the bed while Sesshoumaru kissed her most intimate of places. The dog demon gave her a slight nip, and it was enough to make her shatter. Despite her earlier efforts to stay quiet, Kagura could not smother the moan of pleasure which escaped her lips once she climaxed.

He sat up, licking his moist lips, and taking in the beautiful sight of the breathless wind sorceress quivering in his bed. He decided to give her some time to drift back to earth, and busied himself getting equally naked. In a matter of seconds, he had rid himself of the hated hospital gown Kagura had mocked earlier, and of his underwear. He also reversed their positions so as to be the one again reclining against the pillows of his hospital bed. He had spent the better part of the last few days sitting in that dreadful and embarrassing position while his friends and family came to visit him, and there was nothing her wanted more than to make more pleasurable memories of his extended stay at Suikotsu's clinic.

"Since I have done most of the work so far, I believe it is your turn to do your share." Even if his words were spoken in humor, she knew exactly what he wanted, and wasted no time straddling his lean hips to bury his length inside her. Although he had just asked her to be in charge, he could not help but place his hands on her hips to help regulate her movements.

They soon found a rhythm perfect for the two of them. Kagura performing a rise and fall motion as he thrust his hips up towards her. To her great shock and slight embarrassment, she quickly reached bliss. She knew it was mostly due to the little aftershocks still running through her body because of the amazing climax she had had earlier thanks to Sesshoumaru's kisses and caresses to her womanhood. The dog demon was glad for his self control because even though he felt Kagura shattering and clenching around him, he managed to stop himself from climaxing as well.

"I'm so s…" He knew what she was about to say, and did not want to hear it. He therefore interrupted her by pressing a hard kiss on her delicate lips. She returned his kiss whole heartedly, allowing their tongues to brush sensually.

"Never be embarrassed by the pleasure you find in my arms." He gently whispered in her ear before giving the pointy appendage a slight nip, making her body shudder.

The pretty blush that appeared on her cheeks was irresistible to him. He consequently allowed himself to give her one last kiss before breaking their connection. He took her hips in his hands, and rose her body away from his.

She was surprised by his actions, and voiced her concern. "Sesshoumaru, what about you?"

Without bothering to answer, the inu youkai flipped her over to have her crouched over him, and buried himself back in her body from behind. His swift action made a shocked gasp escape her throat.

Sesshoumaru lowered his golden eyes to look at the vast expanse of the soft skin of her back as he methodically pushed in and out of her. He buried his fingers in the skin of her hips, and even if he was being mindful of his claws, he knew he would be leaving bruises behind. He however also knew that Kagura's youkai blood would heal any kind of blemish in a matter of minutes, and was therefore able to let himself go completely. As he quickened his pace, Kagura raised herself on her hands and knees to make it possible for her to push back against his hard thrusts more easily; her action was much appreciated by her dog demon lover.

The inu youkai trailed his right hand over her hip to reach for the place where they were joined. As soon as he found her pleasure button, he started toying with it once more. With his weaker other hand he reached up to tweak her left nipple.

Kagura's moans intensified, but she protested in a breathless voice. "I don't think I can one more time." She had already had two amazing climaxes thanks to her lover, and was not sure she would be able to handle one more.

"You will, for me." As if to prove his point, he hastened his thrusts and gently pinched her hidden jewel. The words had barely left his mouth, that her body betrayed her, and she did exactly as he asked. Once the dog demon felt her tense and heard her cry out, he knew he could let go. His eyes closed as pleasure ran through him, and he allowed himself to reach bliss as well. His hands went back to Kagura's waist, and he held her tightly against him as his seed rushed forward to bury itself deep in her body.

Kagura slumped forward; she felt as if her body was completely boneless, and could not keep holding herself up on her hands and knees. Sesshoumaru let himself rest for a long while, and it was only when Kagura started squirming in discomfort due to her awkward position of kneeling over her lover's body, that he reluctantly disengaged his length from her warmth. He then helped her lie down next to him, and encircled her in his arms.

Her body was racked with shivers as she still felt the aftermath of her consecutive climaxes, but Sesshoumaru confused her reaction for a sign of being cold. The dog demon therefore reached under them for the blankets and placed them over their warm bodies. The young demoness snuggled happily against the side of her lover. It was then that she realized how much she had missed being held in his strong arms.

"I promise not to make fun of you again…" She teased him as she worked on regaining her breath. Then as she felt her body tingling again in pleasure, she could not help herself from adding. "Or maybe from time to time." After all she knew that she would want a repeat of what they had just shared as often as possible.

* * *

"Would it be possible for you to drive any faster?" Akio Sato did his best to sound as casual and calm as possible even if inside he was seething. He could not detach his brown gaze from the scenery they were passing through in the car.

_'I cannot believe that Jinsei has been living so close to me all this time.'_ The young accountant thought to himself. He was still suffering from the shock he had had when Touran had told him where she would be driving him. All this time he had expected his younger brother to have taken refuge in a nearby city, so hearing that he had been so near to him for all these years had shocked him beyond words.

"If I remember correctly, you were too rattled to be able to pilot your own car, so don't go telling me about how I should be driving." The blue haired demoness mocked the other man for his lack of nerves upon hearing about the whereabouts of his long lost brother. "We'll be at his place in a few minutes." She added as she made a sharp left turn into an urban residential area.

Akio felt his heart throb, and a bout of nausea rise in his throat. He pushed all of his anxiety aside, and took a deep breath. He had waited for over a decade to be reunited with his brother, and would not lose his composition now.

_'Especially not in the presence of that infuriating demoness.' _His brown eyes strayed to the side to look at the beautiful Touran.

The two of them continued to ride in silence until Touran stopped her car in front of a tall red brick building. The young demoness stepped out of her car in a fluid motion, and walked over to the building, not even bothering to check if Akio was following behind her. She approached the console placed on the wall next to the front gate, and pressed the button for apartment 3B, then waited for an answer.

"What?" A male voice barked coming from the other side of the intercom.

"Bankotsu, it's Touran. Sesshoumaru sent me." Lying had always come naturally to her, so she did not have any trouble masking the truth.

"Right. Come up." Bankotsu's not so welcoming words were coupled with a buzzing noise. Touran pushed in the unlocked gate, and stepped inside the building.

"Why didn't you tell him about me?" Akio asked as he faithfully followed behind her.

"If you had met Bankotsu, you would be thanking me right now. Let's just say I'm not too sure how he'd welcome his boyfriend's long lost brother…"

Akio filed the information about the man who was sharing his brother's life along with Jinsei's new name. _'I need to make sure to call him Jakotsu… I know that's what he goes by now.'_

Soon enough the two of them had walked up the three flights of stairs.

"Well, here we are. Hopefully Bankotsu doesn't beat the crap out of you upon seeing your face. From what I've seen, he's very protective of his man." The panther demoness raised her hand and knocked on the blue door with 3B painted on it.

The response from the inhabitants came in almost immediately. Bankotsu threw the door opened, and stood in the doorway in all of his glory. His long dark braid was thrown over his shoulder, and ran down his sweaty glistening chiseled chest.

"What do you want?" He locked his blue gaze on Touran. Far from being intimidated, the young woman smirked. _'I guess that explains the grumpiness. Did we interrupt something between him and Jakotsu?'_

"Who's he?" Bankotsu pointed with his chin to Akio.

Before Touran or Akio could answer, Jakotsu's voice came from inside the apartment. His words came out louder as he walked towards the entrance of his home.

"Touran, you really have the worst timing. For once Banks and I had the day off at the center, and you just had to interrupt our fun." The flamboyant young man appeared behind his lover, a magnificent orange silk kimono hiding his naked body. His easy smile disappeared when he saw who was standing next to Sesshoumaru's 'employee'. It may have been years since he had last seen his older brother, but he would recognize Akio's face anywhere; it greatly resembled his own. "You… oh God!" The young human was unable to put together a complete sentence.

"Do you know that guy?" Bankotsu said, jealousy clearly sounding in his voice. Then as he turned around to look at the man he loved, he cursed under his breath. Jakotsu had turned completely white in shock, and his body shook in distress. "Touran, who the fuck is that guy?"

Not impressed by the harsh growl of the long haired human, Touran shrugged. "I think you should ask your boyfriend."

"Jins… Jakotsu. It's really you, I can't believe it." Akio was so moved he could feel tears rise in his eyes, but since he did not want to dissolve in a puddle of salty liquid, he swallowed down his feelings.

"Banks, no snarling. I do know him… he is my older brother, Akio." Jakotsu's simple words made his boyfriend turn towards Touran's companion with rage burning in his blue eyes.

"How dare you bring that asshole here, in _our_ house?". All of a sudden he recalled all the pain Jakotsu had endured because of his family's rejection. The long nights when he had held his lover while he cried himself to sleep, the many birthdays where instead of celebrating he stayed at home depressed over the idea of never seeing his family again. Not to mention the sorry state Jakotsu had been in when he had first met him at the time the other man was a homeless youth. The thought of how much his beloved had suffered because of his family's rejection made Bankotsu want to make Akio suffer in return. Bankotsu raised his arm to form a fist, but before he had a chance to plant it in Akio's face, the other human male did something which surprised the blue eyed man

Akio pushed past Touran to stand in front of Bankotsu, sending him a challenging look. "If you want to beat me up, do it. No physical pain you can put me though would be greater than the emotional one I've suffered from ever since I have let our father cast off my brother."

_'Hum so the man does have balls after all.' _The impressed Touran thought to herself. Suddenly Akio was looking more attractive to her.

When Bankotsu neither punched him nor lowered his fist, Akio, faking bravado, added. "Go on with it. Hit me now because the sooner you do, the sooner I can talk to my brother."

The four people stayed in a stand still. Touran and Jakotsu had their eyes rived on the two other men who were facing one another.

"You'd let him hit you?... You've always been an idiot." Jakotsu sighed heavily before placing a soothing hand on his lover's bare shoulder, prompting Bankotsu to lower his fist. "Nobody's going to hit anybody. Banks, let them in. We can't have them stand in the hallway any longer, you know that will give an excuse to that old bat of Mrs. Keito to complain about us to the landlord... again" He added referring to the older woman who lived in the apartment next to theirs. She never missed an opportunity to try to have them thrown out of the building, so far she had been unsuccessful.

Grudgingly, Bankotsu did as told. He pushed himself back into his dwelling, allowing Akio, then Touran to step inside as well.

"Well, we're going to be good hosts despite our lack of clothing." Jakotsu winked at his shirtless lover. "Would anyone like some tea?" He then lead the way towards the living room. He was trying to hide his nervousness by being courteous and amusing.

"I don't think I'd be able to swallow anything right now. There's just so much I want to talk to you about… I don't even know where to start…" Akio retorted, his eyes fixated on the fully grown man wrapped in the bright orange kimono. It was still hard for him to accept that this was the same person as the teenage youth he remembered from a decade ago.

"Perhaps you could explain why it was so easy for you to forget you had a brother for so many years." Bankotsu spat bitterly. He had no idea why Sesshoumaru had Touran track down Akio Sato, but had no intention of letting Jakotsu's brother get close enough to him to hurt him _again_.

Jakotsu was torn between asking his boyfriend to play nice, as he was afraid of seeing Akio run away, and asking his brother for an answer to that question. He did not get to do any as his older brother decided to set Bankotsu straight.

"Don't you dare say that! I never forgot about Jinsei. As soon as I realized how stupid it had been of me to let father throw him away, I did my best to find my brother." Akio paused briefly as he remembered the great strain on his relationship with his father the older man's treatment of his youngest son had caused. "It may be hard for you to believe it, but I love Jin…Jakotsu." He quickly corrected himself. "I even named my son, Jinsei, after him."

"You have a son… wow." Jakotsu said breathlessly. The fact that his brother had named his child after him was all the proof he needed to show that the older man had indeed never stopped caring about him. Despite that, he wanted to understand what had happened. "Why did you not say anything?"

Akio knew that Jakotsu was asking after his silence all those years ago when their father had thrown the sixteen year old out of his house after he had revealed his homosexuality.

"This was, and will always be the greatest mistake of my life. To this day I am ashamed. You are my younger brother, my only sibling, and I should have stuck by you. I should have supported you, and defended you, but instead I did nothing." Akio quickly left all his feelings pour out of him in the hopes that they would reach his brother's heart, and they did.

"I can't really blame you, you were eighteen, a kid yourself. Besides the old man was a tyrant, he might have thrown you out too had you dared talk back to him." Jakotsu could remember all too well his father's rages, and harsh corporal punishments. "So, what happened to him?" He tried to sound as casual as possible, even if he was dying to know what had happened to his other family members.

"He died four years ago in a car accident." Akio answered soberly. "At the time of his death, the two of us were not on speaking terms anymore." He had no need to tell his younger brother that he had been the reason for their estrangement as he was sure Jakotsu could infer it. Of course he would not tell the younger human man that it was because the old man had been enraged at the idea of his grandson being named Jinsei that he and his older son broke up their relationship definitively.

"I see." Jakotsu whispered. "What about mother?" He asked, this time emotion making his voice thick. Hearing of his father's passing had not filled him with either joy or sadness, but his reaction was quite different when he was appraised of his mother's fate.

"She had lung cancer two years after you… left. She died a year afterwards, they caught it too late." Akio gritted his teeth, his heart still feeling the loss of his beloved mother. "She regretted not defending you as well. She made me promise to her on her deathbed that I'd never stop looking for you, and I haven't. Mom also wanted you to know you were loved, and that she was sorry she never got the chance to tell you of her feelings for you herself. She wanted you to know you are perfect just the way you are."

All the tears of emotion Jakotsu had struggled to keep in, rushed out all at once.

"I love you too Jakotsu, and I am sorry I failed you. I can only hope…" Akio's apology was interrupted when Jakotsu launched himself into his arms.

"You idiot. I forgive you." Both brothers embraced for a long time, tears streaming down their cheeks. After a long time, when they finally broke apart, Jakotsu turned his brother towards his boyfriend's harsh blue gaze.

"Akio, this is the man I love, live and work with. Bankotsu, that's my brother. There, end of introductions. You guys can become friends."

Even as Akio murmured an awkward greeting, Bankotsu pinned him with a frigid glare. "If you ever hurt Jakotsu for any reason, I'll bust your head opened."

"And I will let you." The dark haired accountant added.

"Good good. Now that we're all on the same page, why don't we all talk over tea? Jakotsu suggested cheerfully. He had quickly wiped his tears away before they destroyed his perfectly applied make-up. A smile had found its place on his lips, and was not about to leave any time soon.

"The hell with tea. This occasion calls for champagne. We have a bottle in the fridge. Jakotsu was keeping it for Kagura's return to the center, but we can always buy another one for her." Bankotsu declared as he headed towards the kitchen for some glasses, and the bottle.

Touran, who had never been comfortable with displays of emotions tried slipping away of the room, but the red eyed Akio caught her movement.

"Stay with us, I'm sure you could use a drink too." His bright smile caused an uncomfortable flutter of warmth to spread in her chest, and before she caught herself, she found herself agreeing. She reasoned that it was not Akio's cute boyish smile, but rather the promise of free alcohol which won her over.

"So while Banks gets our drink, show me pictures of your son. I'm dying to see what my nephew and namesake looks like." Jakotsu asked his brother. He who had often wondered how a child of his own would look like, and knew that seeing his nephew would be the closest he would come to it. After all he and Akio looked a lot alike. His request was quickly fulfilled by his proud brother who dug into his jeans pocket to retrieve his wallet which contained several pictures of his son.

* * *

Kagura and Sesshoumaru laid entwined in his narrow hospital bed, their bodies gently spooning under the covers. His much larger body was holding on to hers from the back. After they had each regained enough strength, they had reluctantly put their clothes back on, or in Sesshoumaru's case a hospital gown, and snuggled back into bed. Even though they had locked the door, it would not do if someone was to find them in bed together naked. The wind sorceress lifted Sesshoumaru's arm from her hip, and turned around to face her lover. She placed her arm on his strong right shoulder, and sighed in satisfaction.

"I have been thinking." Sesshoumaru finally broke their comfortable silence by echoing her words from earlier on.

"Uh huh it better not be involving sex." The wind witch replied. "I _really_ don't think I'd be able to handle more right now."

Sesshoumaru briefly wondered if he had hurt her more than expected, but pushed the idea aside. He could after all still remember the dazed look of pleasure in her eyes when they had laid down together.

"This Sesshoumaru is not a ravenous beast." He snorted at her words.

"Hum could have fooled me…" Since he knew she was only gently teasing him, he contented himself with gently nipping the sensitive skin of her ear with his sharp fangs. The action made her shiver slightly.

"So since you're not trying to have your way with me _again_, why did you want to talk to me about?" She asked her lover as she reached up to delicately run a finger over the horizontal markings on his left cheek. If he was going to play with her, she would return the favor.

"Earlier, you said you wished to have a baby."

"Well I know I said that, but I didn't really think it through… you were right, waiting would be better. I do want to have my own job before getting pregnant again. I guess I kind of panicked. I don't know why, but now after all we shared, all my anxiety and nervousness has magically evaporated."

Her words made him grin proudly as she had managed to stroke his male ego. He however would not be deterred from his course. "I understand your earlier… feelings. In fact I believe I may have found a way to settle your nerves." He noticed her open her mouth to protest, but added before she could speak. "Let us get married."

Her heartbeat quickened upon hearing his words. She knew when she had accepting his marriage proposal, and put on the Tenseiga that getting married was the next step, but had never really taken the time to think about going through it. They had not set a date nor discussed anything about the ceremony.

"Wow." She said breathlessly.

"Do not tell me you are surprised about my words…"

"No of course not. I can't wait to be Mrs. Takahashi." Only the thought of it made her smile in pure happiness. "So, do you want to set a date?"

"This Sesshoumaru wants to get married before the end of the year." He let her know.

"You do know that we're in fall, right?"

"I am aware of that." Kagura laughed at his words. When she noticed he had not joined her in her mirth, she knew he was serious, and she immediately sobered up.

"You've got to be kidding me. Do you know everything that goes into putting a wedding ceremony together?" The wind sorceress had no experience whatsoever with such things, but had been privy to Kagome putting together her own wedding for the past months. She was therefore aware it took a lot of work and preparations.

"I was under the impression you did not want something… large." Sesshoumaru frowned.

"Well… I don't, all that matters to me is us getting married. I just want to be your wife." She snuggled closer to his side.

"So, you should be able to put something together in two months or less." He pointed out. After all they had been through in the past months, their break up, Kanna's kidnapping and his coma, the dog demon wanted to make sure that nothing would come in between them.

"Two months?" She echoed. "Well I wouldn't mind, but something tells me the girls and my mom would be disappointed." Kagura felt Sesshoumaru's questioning gaze, and quickly expanded. "My mother did not raise any girls, and lately she's been sharing her love of putting together girly things with Rin and Kanna. Now that they're almost done with the girls' room, the three of them will want to tackle our wedding. Something tells me they'll have a great time working on it. Not that I mind, I've never really been into such things."

"The girls' room?" Sesshoumaru said. That had been one piece of information which surprised him.

Kagura groaned loudly. "Damn it! I ruined their surprise. My mom found out that doing girly stuff keeps the girls occupied when I'm not around, so the three of them have been remodeling the girls' room at the penthouse. Of course now because of my big mouth I ruined the surprise they've been working on forever." Kagura sighed heavily. _'At least I didn't tell him about the belated party they're putting together for Kanna's birthday.'_

"Don't worry, I will act very surprised when they show me their work. I can be a very good actor when needed." He gently pushed some of her bangs out of her eyes with his lithe fingers.

"Oh you will definitely be in for a surprise. Sakura Fujibayashi always goes all out." Kagura said thinking about the pony inspired mural her mother had had painted on the room of Rin and Kanna's bedroom. Her biological daughter's obsession with horses as of late had inspired the remodeling of the girls' room. In addition to the new painting, Rin and Kanna were each getting a new bed, and side tables along with several toys. Despite Kagura's protests, her mother had insisted on paying for everything as she wanted to spoil her only grandchildren.

"If it would please Rin and Kanna, then I can consent to give you more time." He may be eager to put a wedding band around Kagura's finger, but he would not interfere with something that would please his daughters.

"You are so generous my love." Kagura teased him good naturedly.

Sesshoumaru was about to issue a retort, but never had the chance as Kagura's cell phone suddenly rung. She reached over for the side table to get her purse, and retrieved her phone. She was surprised to see the identity of her caller, but answered.

"Yo Jakotsu." She answered her phone cheerfully.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" The young human said happily and rapidly. "I don't know why or how you got that dog demon of yours to find my brother, but you have my eternal gratitude. We may have taken Mayumi as a temporary worker at the center, but let me assure you that you have nothing to worry about, our doors will always be opened to you. I don't know how to thank you, but if you _ever_ need anything, you can count on Bankotsu and me."

It was very easy for Kagura to figure out what had happened. _'When I asked Sesshoumaru to find Jakotsu's brother, I never expected for him to work this quickly.' _She knew how influential her fiancé was, but had not anticipated for him to be successful this quickly.

"You helped me get my baby back. If someone should be grateful, it's me. I did ask Sesshoumaru to find your brother because I know how much you missed him."

"In any other circumstance I would have scolded you for getting involved in my life, but this time around you did good. Well I'd love to stay and talk longer, but I'm about to go meet my nephew. Can you believe my brother named him after me?" Jakotsu said happily. "Thanks again for everything!"

As Kagura placed her cell phone back in her purse, she thought about how happy she was for her friend and boss. Being reunited with his brother was she knew the one thing that had been missing from Jakotsu's life, and playing a part in helping him achieve happiness made her feel better.

"Have I told you how amazing you are?" She asked her lover as she lied back next to him.

"Not as of late. I take it this was Jakotsu?" Based on what he had heard from Kagura's side of the conversation, he had inferred that Touran had been successful in her mission.

"Well let me tell you again. You're amazing, and very generous." She raised herself to press a kiss to his striped cheek. "Jakotsu sounded so happy, and it's all thanks to you."

"I owed him and Bankotsu for helping us locate Naraku's hideout. Had it not been for them, we never would have been able to get Kanna back this quickly. My debt has been paid." He looped his arm back around her slim body to get her closer to him.

She snuggled closer to him before saying. "And you honey always pay your debts."

"Indeed."

"Even though you use this… creed as an excuse not to admit that deep inside, you're a softie."

"This Sesshoumaru is _not_ a softie." He said defensively, causing his fiancée to chuckle.

"Says the man who rescued an unknown woman and her toddler daughter, and allowed them to stay at his penthouse." She reminded him of the day he had removed her from Naraku's house, and brought her to his apartment.

'_Who could have ever thought that we would end up as a family? I really should thank Inuyasha and Miroku for hiring me to spend the night with Sesshoumaru.' _She thought, a warm glow spreading through her.

"One of the few times I acted impulsively." He commented before adding, a small smile on his lips. "It was also the best decision I have ever made."

He really could not imagine his life without Kagura, Kanna and Rin. Before his lover had entered his life, he had been a workaholic with not much of a private life except for a string of meaningless one night stands. He even held the people most close to him such as his brother, their friend Miroku or even his mother and step mother at bay. However the second Kagura managed to worm she and her daughter into his heart, he started paying more attention and caring more about the people around him.

"Don't say stuff like that. It makes you sound ridiculous." Kagura, still unused to the idea of being talked about in such loving and respectful words, retorted.

It amused him to see her reaction to his words, so he decided to add even more. "In fact I am quite sure my life would not be the same without you."

Kagura scoffed, but since she knew that he was teasing her, she answered in kind. "For one, you probably wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed." When she noticed his face turn into a frown, she quickly added. "Well then again you wouldn't be my hero either."

"Your hero?" Sesshoumaru echoed. Even if he sounded amused, her words went straight to his heart and warmed him all over. "I guess the timing would be perfect to let you know of the latest idea I had then."

"Oh. Is it another surprise?" She was still getting over his 'decision' to start organizing their wedding.

Instead of answering, he reached over once again for the manila envelope containing the legal documents Kagura had signed earlier. When he had reached inside for a pen, his fingers had also brushed against a small metallic object, which he now sought to retrieve.

"Other than the papers, Miroku and Inuyasha have brought something else I have asked for." He picked up the key hidden in the envelope, and placed it in front of Kagura's crimson gaze.

"What is this?" She asked him, slightly confused.

"A key."

She was not amused by his jest, and glared fiercely in his direction. Since she was not going to let him mock her, she did not waste time asking him what the key was for. Besides she was sure he would tell her soon enough, which he did.

"It is the master key to the beach house. The weather may be too cold for us to enjoy the beach, but you, Kanna, Rin and I could use some time away for a few days. Of course I will need a little bit of time to put things to right at the office, but I am sure we can go away next weekend."

"Suikotsu barely allowed you to get out of the hospital, and you're already putting together an entire agenda. Do I have to remind you that you were shot, and are still in need of therapy? Good thing I'm here, because since I am to be your personal nurse, get ready for nothing other than rest and relaxation." To prove her point she poked his recovering arm with her finger.

"I believe we can negotiate. I _need_ to go to the agency to sort out things; however, instead of a week, I can go in for two of three days." _'This should be sufficient to put everything to rights. I am Sesshoumaru Takahashi after all…'_ He mentally thought to himself. "We can then leave for the beach house."

"Where you will do no work." She did not ask a question, but rather made a statement. _'Whether he likes it or not, I _will _make him rest and recuperate.'_

"Am I allowed to bring my cell phone at least?" He asked her with a snort.

"Sure, but no laptop." She quickly added. She would not put it past him to try to sneak in work during their much deserved time away. While working as his secretary, she had seen him complete entire projects without having to leave his office. All he needed was a phone and access to his email account. The more she thought about it, the more eager she became at the idea of going away to the beach house with Sesshoumaru and the girls. After all they had been though, she was sure it would be best for their family to go away. She therefore would not let his work get in the way of their improvised vacation.

"It seems my dear that you are confusing your roles of nurse and fiancée with the one of jailer." He retorted on a sweet tone.

"Remember that. Now that I have you, I will not let you out of my sight." She raised herself to press a tender kiss to his lips. "Besides if you try to get rid of me, I'll just have myself delivered to your door once again." His slight smile disappeared upon hearing her words, which caused Kagura to chuckle. "Lighten up honey, I was just kidding. You have to admit it was a funny joke."

He was surprised to see Kagura, who had always been uncomfortable with her past, bring up their original meeting when she was still Kaze, and was working for her father's 'escorting' business.

_'I guess she really has changed. She seems at peace with her past and herself.'_ He was pleased to see how much happier and different she was from the thin, overly made-up and almost naked woman who had come to his penthouse a chilly Valentine's Day evening.

"If you were to show up at my door, I can assure you I wouldn't throw you out this time around." The dog demon played along with her earlier joke. Since the young woman did not find speaking of her past disturbing any longer, he did not see why he would refuse to speak of the matter.

She lowered herself back to the bed to snuggle closer to his side. "You wouldn't be able to throw me out anyways. You were doomed from the second you took me in. I'm not going anywhere."

"I wouldn't allow you to." He reached down for her left hand, and placed a kiss over her engagement ring, the Tenseiga, which was the physical proof of their love.

"Good. Now that it's all settled, and that we've decided I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to spend a bit of time with you, then will go home to the girls." The blissfully happy wind sorceress said reluctantly. As much as she loved her Sesshoumaru, and wanted to spend all her time with him, she knew Kanna and Rin needed her too, and she was not about to neglect her daughters.

"You can tell them about our impromptu vacation. I am sure it would please them, and getting ready for a trip would give them something to do other than redecorate my penthouse." He said as he recalled clearly how shy sweet Rin had asked him if he would bring her to the beach house as well after Kanna had told her sister about the week their family spent at his father's house.

"You mean they will be full of excitement, and will drive me crazy with hundreds of questions…" Kagura chuckled, pretending to be annoyed. In reality seeing her daughters joyful, after all they had been through in the past weeks, would make her happy in return.

Sesshoumaru Takahashi placed a kiss on his fiancée's brow. Now that he had mentioned his idea of going away to Kagura, he could not wait to implement it. He was eager to be reunited with his daughters too. He couldn't wait for the four of them to be a real family.

_'I never would have expected to have a family of my own, but now that I do, I truly love it.' _The young inu youkai thought to himself, his chest warmed by feelings of pride and pure happiness. '_In just one year I have gained a wife and two daughters. It seems my lonely nights of surfing through television channels looking for something to watch are really over now.'_

**To be continued?...**

A/N: Phew! All done with this last chapter. For some reason I had a hard time with this one (and not because of the steamy lemon). I probably didn't want to see it end lol. Next time there'll be an **Epilogue**, and it will be the last update in this story.


	91. Epilogue

_**Chapter 91: Epilogue**_

A/N: Thank you so much to all of you guys for the support you have given me through this long process of writing _Special Delivery_. I am very grateful to all my readers, all the people who put the story on their favorite/alert lists and my amazing reviewers whose words very often inspired me.

One last time, thank you guys for reviewing:

**SamiMac**

**Little25victor **(My heart was going pitty pat as well when I typed this last chapter. I will sorely miss Special Delivery. Hum a happy ending fest for everyone? We shall see. The evil side of me might have wanted to torture some characters ku ku ku.)

**Kagura's number 1 fan **(Thank you for the kind words. I am proud of myself for seeing this _very _long story to its end lol. I'm glad you picked up on the changes in Kagura; she's come a long way for sure! )

_Disclaimer:_If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

Kagura Takahashi picked up her briefcase, and exited her red sedan, which she had just parked in her garage. Her meeting with her latest client had run late, and she had come close to missing dinner with her family. Despite the fact that she was late, she took the time to pause for a minute and take in the house she was about to enter. After her much loved family, this was her greatest accomplishment.

_'To think that only a few years ago it was just an idea in my head.' _The wind sorceress thought with pride. She had designed her dream house for a class assignment in one of her architecture classes, and had asked Sesshoumaru his opinion of it, never expecting how things would turn out. He had loved it, and had vowed to see it built. It had taken them five years to have the house done, but they had. She had also taken great joy decorating the interior, and neither she nor Sesshoumaru had spared any expenses. The girls loved the house just as much as their parents did. Kanna had at first been sad at the idea of moving in another place and leaving the beloved pony mural her grandmother had had painted on the wall of the girls' bedroom in Sesshoumaru's penthouse, but she had become quite happy and amendable when she was told she would be having her own bedroom, and would be able to decorate it as she wanted. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, the young mother rushed over to the front door.

"Hey everyone, mommy's home!" She was surprised her announcement was not received with shouts of joys as it usually was. _'Maybe they're already having dinner.' _She thought as she dropped her briefcase and car keys on the table placed in the entryway for this purpose. With much relief she discarded her heels and unbuttoned her jacket. While making herself comfortable in the hallway, her eyes strayed to the large family portrait adorning the wall opposite from her. Sesshoumaru had had his wife and daughters pause for long hours as he put their likeness to a canvas. He had then painted himself in the back behind the armchair Kagura was seated on, each of his clawed hands resting protectively on the shoulders of Rin and Kanna who he had placed standing on each side of their mother's seated form. He had wanted to paint a family portrait for a long time, but had decided to wait until he had completely regained the use of his injured arm to do so. The dog demon had only been able to present the final product of his work to his wife on their second wedding anniversary. He had of course left some blank spaces on the canvas in case he would need to paint additional people of his work of art. Not too long ago he had actually made use of the area he had purposely left blank on Kagura's lap.

The wind sorceress smiled as she eyed her family portrait then following her earlier idea, she headed for the dining room where she expected to see her family sharing a meal. To her shock the table had been set, and had food full dishes on it, but the room was empty. She was about to go upstairs in search of her husband and children when the sound of shuffling feet came from behind her. She back tracked to the living room, and was nearly tackled by a fierce hug from her two teenage daughters.

"Hey mom." Rin said happily. The shy young human had grown in a pretty teenage girl. She had become more outgoing than her younger sister in the past ten years with the love and help of her family. In fact to both of her parents' delight, Rin had grown more confident and more trusting of others.

"You're late again." Kanna said accusingly with a slight pout. In the past few weeks while Kagura had been working for a very demanding client of her company, she had often times missed dinner with her family. She however always made it a point to be home before the bedtime of her daughters.

"I know honey, I'm sorry. It's the last time though. I told Mrs. Fujimiya that if she didn't like what I did with her living room, she could just stuff her ideas where the sun doesn't shine." The wind sorceress said with a chuckle.

"You didn't!" Rin said with a gasp. She had become used to her mother's outrageous behavior over the years, but was still sometimes uncomfortable by Kagura's brazen ways.

"Wow." The void demoness said with clear respect. When she became an adult in a few more years, she wanted to be just like her mom.

"Where's your dad, and why haven't you guys had dinner yet?"

"This Sesshoumaru is right here, and we have yet to eat because of a cranky two year old little girl." The dog demon came downstairs to join his wife and elder daughters. He was holding Amai, the child he had had with Kagura two years ago.

Since during the early years of their marriage the wind sorceress had been working on her career, they had decided to wait until eight years after they had tied the knot to add another child to their family with the hopes of having one more shortly afterwards. However Amai, who unlike her name was far from being sweet, had quickly proved to be a little hellion who had the whole Takahashi household at her feet; especially, her doting father. Sesshoumaru and Kagura had therefore decided to wait until Amai had started school, and hopefully became less demanding, before having one last child. No matter how much of a trial their youngest had been, the wind sorceress wanted to have one last child as she did wish to give her husband a son. As happy and loving as Sesshoumaru had been upon seeing his newborn daughter, the wind demoness was convinced the dog demon had been slightly disappointed to have a third daughter.

_'He may have hid it well, but I'm sure he really wanted a son. He is a dog demon after all… Not to mention that at their yearly stupid fishing competition Inuyasha rubs it in Sesshoumaru's face that unlike him who has three, Sessh doesn't have any sons to pass down his fishing techniques to.' _Kagura reflected thoughtfully.

The fact that her small company was recently getting more business than ever had also been a reason for her to postpone having a fourth child. Now that she and the Fujibayashi's real estate company, which Byakuya ran, worked hand in hand, the young woman had more clients than ever. Before Byakuya sold a house, he had his older sister work on it to update it. She used her knowledge of interior design and architecture to make the houses as attractive as possible to potential buyers. The wind sorceress also worked for clients unrelated to her brother's company such as the skunk youkai Mrs. Fujimiya who had been making her life a living hell for the past few weeks. The older woman was never happy with any of the ideas Kagura ever came up with. She had had the young woman pour over ideas for each room of her house over and over again. This unending work had caused Kagura to see less of her family as of late, and the young demoness had had enough of it.

_'No money in the world is worth working for that damn woman.' _Kagura thought angrily. '_Besides whenever I'm not here, Sesshoumaru indulges the girls too much.'_ Just thinking about how much her husband let their youngest do as she wished caused Kagura to intervene.

"Is Amai refusing to go to bed again?" Kagura reached out to relieve her husband of their youngest daughter. She leaned down to bury her face in the young child's wavy silver hair, and pressed a loving kiss on the little girl's head. The fact that Amai had proved to be a real trial ever since she had been born did not mean that Kagura loved her any less than she did her older biological and adoptive daughters.

"Rin and I were singing to her, but she still won't fall sleep." Kanna let her mother know. A few months ago, Amai had started crying uncontrollably for no apparent reason. At first Kagura feared that Sesshoumaru's condition had been passed down to their blood daughter despite her taking Mukotsu's foul potion religiously during her pregnancy. It was only after they had brought the toddler to see Suikotsu that they had found out the reason for the child's pain; her growing canines. They had tried different pain killers, and while they seldom worked, her family had found another thing that seemed to appease Amai's pain: having her two older sisters sing to her nursery rhymes.

"Is it because of your teeth again Amai-chan? Open up, let mommy see." The half dog half wind demoness reluctantly did as told, and opened her mouth widely. Kagura frowned upon seeing her daughter's swollen upper gums where two pointed white fangs were sprouting. "My poor baby, no wonder it hurts." Kagura cooed gently, feeling her daughter's pain.

"I was trying to rub some of mother's remedy on her teeth, but she is not being very cooperative, maybe you'll have a better chance." Sesshoumaru handed to his wife some cotton swabs and the vial his mother had given them during her latest visit. Asuka swore it would work to relieve Amai of her pain as she had used some of it on Sesshoumaru when he had been a toddler.

Throughout the past ten years, the older dog demoness had dropped in on visits once a year. She spent most of the time during her stay criticizing Kagura, who she still was not sure deserved her son. She did not pay much attention to Rin and Kanna, but to please her son she did on occasion bring the two girls gifts. However ever since Amai had been born, Asuka Watanabe-Takahashi had given her son's family much more attention. In just the past two years she had visited them as many times as she had during the previous eight. Kagura was convinced that the reason for Asuka's newfound interest was the uncanny physical resemblance her granddaughter had to her. In fact the dog demoness dotted outrageously on her biological granddaughter, showering her with many gifts. Asuka's clear favoritism for Amai did not bother Rin and Kanna much as their other grandmother, Sakura, was as close to them as when they had lived with her during their father's hospitalization ten years ago.

"I no like. It taste icky." Amai frowned unhappily. She hoped her scowl would be enough to dissuade her mother.

Ignoring her daughter's unhappiness, Kagura sat on the closest armchair, and placed Amai on her lap before putting some of Asuka's medicine on a cotton swab. "Open up honey."

"No!" Amai turned her head away from her mother.

"You know that's the only way to get better. Now, let me see your gums again." Kagura attempted to cajole her daughter into cooperation.

"No. Rin and Kanna sing again." The stubborn little girl addressed her sisters. Unfortunately for her, her mother was the only member of the household who she was unable to bend to her will.

"She is _so_ your daughter." Kagura hissed wearily to her husband. "Your sisters have to eat their dinner before it gets cold, and will not sing to you. Enough now Amai-chan, open up. Don't make me repeat myself, or you'll be sorry young lady."

Reluctantly, and with a scowl rivaling the famous one of her uncle Inuyasha and his youngest son Akira, Amai opened her mouth. Before her daughter could change her mind, Kagura quickly reached down to dab the medicine inside the child's mouth.

"Thanks for being a good girl. You should start to feel better soon." Kagura gave her daughter a quick kiss before coming to her feet. She walked towards her relieved husband, and after giving Sesshoumaru a quick peck, handed their handful of their daughter to him. "You need to be more firm with her Sessh."

"Why would I when you are so good with her?" Sesshoumaru grinned, cradling his youngest child lovingly. "You girls go start on dinner while I put this little one to bed."

"Daddy no." Amai sent her father her best pitying look with her crimson eyes. The dog demon felt her pull at his heart strings, and wanted to give in and allow her to spend a little more time with her family, but the glare Kagura was sending him made him do the right decision.

"It is past your bedtime." He said firmly. When he spied the bottom lip of his little girl quiver and tears pool in her crimson eyes, he quickly added, in the hopes of making her feel better, and stop the onslaught of her tears. "We will have a special breakfast tomorrow. You can eat anything you like." His promise was enough to pacify her. Everyone in the Takahashi family knew that the one way to get to Amai was food. Therefore the promise of being able to choose whatever she wanted for breakfast was a good enough trade off to going to bed before what she deemed to be an appropriate time.

"Okay! Bed now." Amai said brightly. She looped her arms around her father's strong neck. "Good night everyone!"

"Ugh what happened to my fierce dog demon? The three of you have him wrapped all around your little fingers." Kagura sighed to her two older girls making Rin and Kanna giggle as they were aware how true her words were. Everyone knew that in their household Kagura was the firm parent while Sesshoumaru got his girls whatever they wanted.

Unlike his daughters, the dog demon was not amused by his wife's mocking words. "This Sesshoumaru is as fierce as before." Kagura's response came in an arched eyebrow. He knew that his statement was a bit hard to believe when he had his toddler daughter cradled in his arms, and remnants of Amai's dinner still splattered over the front of his designer shirt. The young girl had not been very cooperative, and since she had not wanted to eat her spaghetti dinner, had decided that a good part of it would look better on her father's shirt than inside her stomach.

"Yes, keep telling yourself that my love." Kagura grinned before stepping forward to press a kiss to the lips of her husband of ten years. Her lips then moved on to her youngest daughter's chubby cheek. "Good night honey. I'll make pancakes tomorrow morning, but don't expect it to become a daily thing, okay?"

"Okay mommy, but I want it with fruits! Good night, I love you." Amai returned her mother's kiss with crimson eyes twinkling in happiness. Her sweet words made the wind sorceress smile indulgently.

"It seems this Sesshoumaru is not the only one who can be manipulated." The dog demon boasted. It amused him to no end to see how Kagura, who liked to mock him for being too lenient with the girls, often behaved just as bad as he did. When it came to the wind sorceress, she was annoyed to see how easily her husband always saw through her.

"Rin, Kanna, say good night to your sister." Kagura said as she stepped away from Sesshoumaru and Amai. She could only hope that her husband had not noticed her embarrassed blush.

Two years ago when Kagura had been pregnant, the arrival of Amai had not been welcomed by all. In fact as loving as Rin usually was, she had been worried that having a biological child would change the way Sesshoumaru would feel towards her. When it came to Kanna, she hated the idea of not being the baby of the family anymore. However as soon as the two Takahashi girls had laid eyes on their red and squealing newborn sibling, they had fallen in love, and all their doubts had been laid to rest. For the past two years the two of them had taken an active role in helping take care of their demanding younger sister. Changing diapers and feeding bottles had become routine things for the two teenagers. No one could however believe that at some point Rin and Kanna had not wanted their parents to have another child upon seeing how lovingly the sixteen and thirteen year old sisters hugged and kissed Amai goodnight.

As soon as Kanna and Rin were done, Sesshoumaru walked back upstairs with his appeased and triumphant daughter in his arms. This time around he was determined to put Amai in her crib, and change his dirty shirt, which the toddler had so prettily decorated earlier with her dinner.

Kagura placed an arm around the shoulders of each of her two older children. As she did so she could not help but lament how much her two little girls had grown up.

_'Rin will go away to college soon and Kanna has just entered high school.' _The wind sorceress thought sadly. _'Soon enough they won't be needing me.'_

"Well, now that the little tyrant is going to go to bed, let's go enjoy our dinner." Kagura brought her daughters in for one last quick hug. "Rin, you have to tell me how practice for next weekend's track competition is going." Then as Kagura noticed her middle daughter's pout, she added. "And Kanna, I'm dying to know how your presentation on elemental youkai went in Mrs. Nabo's class."

"Well the coach said that I have a good shot at being first place!"

"I think it went well; everyone liked the props, so thanks for the fans."

The wind sorceress chuckled at her daughters' enthusiasm. "Girls! One at a time please." The three of them laughed merrily as they walked towards the dining room.

* * *

Sesshoumaru, Kagura, Rin and Kanna Takahashi had peacefully enjoyed the evening meal their elderly housekeeper, Mrs. Yaeto had put together. Kagura had been reluctant at the idea of relinquishing her role of cook for her family, but as her workload increased, she had had no choice but to hire a housekeeper. Her mother had helped her find the perfect candidate, who was a grey haired warm older demoness who loved cooking, and was great at it. After meeting the kind Mrs. Yaeto, the wind sorceress had had no choice but to like the mother like woman, and soon enough she had become a full member of the Takahashi family.

True to their usual nightly after dinner routine, Kagura and Sesshoumaru checked their daughters' homework, giving them the opportunity to spend some time with both Rin and Kanna. Then when the two teenagers went up to bed, Kagura took a long bath to unwind while Sesshoumaru did some work on his latest advertising campaign for a cosmetics brand.

A scant hour later, the wind sorceress was lying in bed working on her latest knitting project. Even if her work had become her second priority after her family, she still made time for her favorite hobby.

"Everything is locked and secured." Sesshoumaru announced as he lay next to her on their bed. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder left bare by her nightgown.

"I don't understand your constant need to check the whole house. Did you not install the best security system when we built the house?" She asked her husband as she did not look away from her work.

"I only intend to make sure my family is protected." His golden eyes lowered to her fast working fingers as he added. "Is there something you would like to tell me?"

Her crimson eyes followed his gaze, and a blush spread on her cheeks. She raised the baby socks she had been knitting.

Sesshoumaru waited breathlessly for her announcement. A part of him wanted another child, but another part of him was getting worried at the idea of it. He looked down at Kagura's slim body, and once again marveled at her strength. While Kagome and then Sango had been pregnant, he had observed their bodies morph, and heard them complain, but was never really involved with the whole process; however, things had been different with Kagura's pregnancy. He had seen her suffer through searing heartburn, fatigue, nausea and back and feet pain. All of this had been magnified by Mukotsu's potion. It had been effective in preventing Amai from inheriting her father's blood condition, but had made Kagura utterly miserable for nine months. During the whole time she had assured him she was alright, but he had been worried. Too often he had suspected Kagura had not told him the extent of her suffering. It was only when she had collapsed at work one day that he had realized how much of a toll the pregnancy and the potion were having on her. Never had he been more afraid in his life than when Byakuya had let him know about his wife's condition. Suikotsu had strongly suggested the reluctant wind sorceress be put on bed rest, but it was only after Sesshoumaru had threatened to not go to work and force her to stay in bed that she had become more cooperative. His worry had not quit him until Amai had been delivered safely.

_'She is a strong demoness, and I know she would rather hide her pain from me than admit she is not doing alright.' _He thought, his love and respect for the woman who had shared his life for eleven years as strong as ever.

"No. This isn't for us honey." She smiled slightly, and then noticing the unclear look in his eyes, she quickly added. "Besides did we not agree we should wait until Amai is done with the terrible twos before having another one?" Kagura sighed, silently praying for her daughter's demanding attitude to disappear soon. "Believe it or not, but this is for my brother."

"Byakuya is having another child? Will you be alright at the office without Kaname for a while?" He asked referring to her business associate in her interior decorating business who had married her brother five years ago.

"You have the wrong brother. I'm talking about Hakudoushi. I talked to mom during my lunch break today, and she's over the moon at the idea of having one more grandchild to coo over."

"How do you feel about it?" He asked his wife. He knew she had felt uncomfortable about her youngest half brother's recent wedding.

"When they first started dating, I thought it was… weird, but they've been together for over three years, so I suppose they really love each other. I guess that back then I had just expected Byakuya to be the one to end up with Ai. I can still remember how depressed Byakuya was after Ai refused to go on a date with him." The dog demoness said as she resumed working furiously on her socks.

"He is happy with Kaname." Sesshoumaru pointed out. "Are you still upset with the fact that you were unable to get your brother and former co-worker together? Has your ego not be stroked enough by the fact that Byakuya met Kaname thanks to you, or even that Akio and Touran have been blissfully living together majorly because of your intervention?"

_'Rather than Hakudoushi's relationship with that tiger demoness, what I for one find weird is the fact that Touran could end up happily married to a human accountant, and a mother of three.' _Sesshoumaru could not help but think back to the hard, cold and non emotional Touran he once knew, employed and had an affair with.

"You know I don't care about that. I'm not a matchmaker, but an interior designer and architect." Kagura puffed up her chest proudly. "Besides I'm not upset, I just find it weird for Haku and Ai to be together. I just don't see what she could see in that brat."

To that Sesshoumaru could not find anything to object. In the past decade he had gotten to know his two brothers in-law, and while he got along pretty well with Byakuya, he had yet to be able to have a full conversation with Hakudoushi without wanting to strangle the arrogant younger man.

"And yet you are going to knit socks and blankets for their child." He placed another kiss to her shoulder, causing a shiver of sexual awareness to run down her spine.

"Well I do like Ai a lot, and that poor baby will have a jackass as a father, so the least I can do for him is to give him warm feet." The wind sorceress grinned before turning her head to the side to press a little kiss to her husband's unsuspecting lips. Before she had the chance to lean away, Sesshoumaru took her lips in a deep passionate kiss, having their tongues entwine.

"Hum Sesshy, keep kissing me like that, and you'll make me want to have my way with you." She breathed out, her insides still quivering because of his passionate kiss.

He kissed her one last time before answering with a grin. "You know dear wind witch that I would never object. However there is something I wanted to ask you about."

"I'm all ears, what's up." Since she could tell that only something serious could make Sesshoumaru postpone sex, she placed her knitting work away on her side table, and focused entirely on her husband.

"You told the girls you wouldn't be working for Mrs. Fujimiya anymore." He knew how hard Kagura had worked to get the wealthy skunk youkai as a client for her growing interior design company, and was therefore surprised to hear she had decided to stop working for her.

"She couldn't make up her damn mind, and she kept rejecting any idea me or Kaname presented to her." Ever since she had set up her own company, the wind sorceress had had enough satisfied customers to know that she did great work. She was therefore sure that it was not her, but rather the skunk youkai who was lacking in taste. "Besides she kept having me work overtime for no money. I just couldn't keep missing dinner with my babies."

"Did you not trust me to take care of them?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you're a great father. The girls love you." Kagura gently teased him by adding. "Although you have a tendency to spoil them rotten; especially, Amai."

"My dear, have we not proved earlier today that she has you eating out of her hand as well?" The dog demon asked his wife.

Kagura laughed out loud due to his words. "Amai is very persuasive indeed. She is like your mother in so many ways." Sesshoumaru frowned even if he could still see the truth in Kagura's words.

"When will I have a child that looks like me? Kanna took after my mom, right down to her powers, and Amai is your mother's spitting image…"

"She does have your eyes." Sesshoumaru reminded the wind sorceress.

"True." Kagura said smiling briefly upon remembering the first time she had seen the eyes of her youngest which mirrored hers perfectly. Before she had met Sakura, she had hated the bloody red color of her eyes as it reminded her of Naraku's own orbs. It was only when she had found out the crimson colored eyes were an inheritance from her biological mother that the wind sorceress had come to love that part of her anatomy. "At least Rin shares my hair color." Her words pleased him as Sesshoumaru was glad to see how much their adoptive daughter had become a complete member of their family.

"I can assure you the next one is going to be a boy _and_ a kaze youkai." Even if Sesshoumaru smiled at Kagura's enthusiasm outwardly, his heart clenched in fear. As much as a delight little Amai was, he could still remember all too well Kagura's suffering during her difficult pregnancy.

"The next one?" He echoed, surprised.

"Yes. We'll just keep on trying until we do get a boy."

He smiled sadly upon hearing her words as it gave him a clear insight into the reason behind her determination. "Kagura, you do realize that I do not care whether our next child is a boy or not. I will be content with a fourth daughter." The inu youkai reassured his wife. At first he may have wanted a boy when Kagura had been pregnant, but he was very happy with Amai, and would not want to trade her for anything.

"Aw don't look so frightened my dear, I'm just kidding." She smiled broadly; her heart swelling with love with the man she had married a decade ago. "Even if you did promise to give me ten babies before we moved to a farm in the countryside." She recalled, her eyes twinkling with mockery, the way he had cheered her up in the tiny bathroom of her apartment after she had found out she was not pregnant over ten years ago.

Sesshoumaru chuckled slightly upon hearing her words. "I am surprised to see you still remember that."

"I remember _everything_ you ever told me."

"That may be, but you so seldom do as I tell you to." Sesshoumaru retorted. He could still remember how after their spring wedding Kagura had refused to let him take her to Europe for a honeymoon. She had contented herself with the two of them with Kanna and Rin going for a two weeks break at the beach house. It was only three years into their marriage that she had consented to leave their daughters with their grandparents while she and Sesshoumaru spent three weeks touring through Europe. He had reveled in showing her the ancient architecture, which had inspired her work as an architect and interior designer. The two marble columns adorning the front entrance of their house were a testament to their belated honeymoon.

"Well, you have to admit that if I did, our lives would be _so_ boring." The wind sorceress pointed out teasingly to her husband before giving him a quick kiss on the lips, and snuggling against his warm body. The dog demon chuckled heartily, and encircled her body in his two strong arms.

It was at times like this, when he held Kagura's slim body close to his that Sesshoumaru realized how fortunate he was. Things had not always been easy. After he had finally been released from the hospital by Suikotsu, the dog demon had been in for a rude awakening as he had almost lost his agency. Inuyasha and Miroku had been sugarcoating things for him while his mother's panic when she had tried to take on a greater role at his company had been warranted. Most of his large and wealthy clients had fled the agency mostly because of the scandal he had been mixed in due to the revelations about Kagura's past, but also because of the dog demon's prolonged absence and hospitalization.

_'I could have lost everything had it not been for father's old friend Hosenki.' _Sesshoumaru thought to himself. Even now, ten years after the facts he still felt indebted to the one person who had helped him get his agency back on track. Just like him, the older oyster demon had followed his heart even if it meant being made fun of, and losing business.

During a business trip in Las Vegas, Hosenki had been brought by some clients to a strip club, and had fallen head over heels for one of the dancers. Once he had gone back home, everyone had laughed at a middle aged man for falling for a beautiful woman half his age whose job consisted on baring her body to strangers. They had called him a fool, and shunned the loving couple, but their love had stood strong. Twenty years and three children later people had had no choice but to recognize that their feelings were genuine. Since Hosenki knew all too well the situation Sesshoumaru found himself in, when he had heard of the troubles plaguing the advertising agency of his friend's son, he did not hesitate to offer his help. He put Sesshoumaru in charge of a multi-million advertising campaign for his latest pearl collection, which helped the Takahashi agency regain its place. Even to this day Sesshoumaru was sure that the commercial he had designed was some of his best work. He had had once again Sondai shoot the spot, and found that having moved in with Tanuki had made the young woman calmer and easier to work with. Their work had been wonderful, and had helped him impose his company as a major agency once again. Soon enough work had come piling in again, and everything was as it should be.

"What are you thinking about so attentively?" Kagura asked her husband as she reached up to run her finger over the crease between his brows.

Her question thrust him out of his thoughts about the past. "Just work."

"How can you think about work when you have me almost naked lying next to you in bed?" She faked a small pout, and poked him in the ribs as punishment.

"Says the one who almost missed dinner…"

"That's not going to happen again. It seems like I have to be here from now one considering how you're clearly unable to feed Amai without ruining your clothes in the process." She referred to the tomato sauce splattered shirt he had had no choice but to throw away earlier.

"Your daughter is as spirited as you my dear."

She chuckled after hearing his words. "Ah so she is mine alone? Let me guess, now that Kanna and Rin are growing into brilliant beautiful young women, they're _your_ children."

"Yes indeed." The two of them shared an intimate laugh prompted by his teasing words.

Once the mirth rushing through the two of them calmed down, Kagura stretched before telling her husband something she had meant to let him know earlier. "Oh! I forgot to tell you, I'm going to pick up the girls after school tomorrow."

Noticing Sesshoumaru arching an eyebrow in surprise, she readily added. "I'm just doing a half day tomorrow. I deserve some time off after all the shit that damn Fujimiya put me through. Kaname can hold down the fort while I spend some time with my daughters." Kagura had complete trust in her horse demoness sister in-law.

"Do you have any plans for your… girly afternoon?" He wondered cautiously if she was going to ask him to join in some way or other.

"Hum we'll probably go to the center. I haven't seen Jakotsu, Bankotsu and Mayumi in a while. It would do the girls some good to help out. Rin has been stressing out over her upcoming track competition, and Kanna's been working so hard at school. Amai would have some younger kids to play with… or rather boss around." While the wind sorceress knew that Rin and Kanna would be able to give a much welcomed hand to the center, which ever since Mayumi and Suikotsu had started a family was sometimes shorthanded. However as Kagura knew her Amai all too well, she suspected that her youngest would instead of helping, manage to have all the other toddlers at the center cater to her wants.

"It is good of you to want to help your friends even when you take time off work." Sesshoumaru praised her.

"Yes. Am I not the most generous, amazing and loving person you know?" She grinned before sitting up, and throwing a leg over his body to straddle his hips.

"Ah loving, yes that is fitting indeed." He tenderly ran a hand up her silk covered curves to gently caress her unbound long dark mane.

"And generous." She reminded him, and as if to prove her point, she leaned forward to give him a kiss on the lips.

"Yes." He agreed once she released his lips. "And let us not forget amazing."

She chuckled in pure amusement at the teasing tone in his voice. "I am also the luckiest demoness in the whole world. After all I am married to you." Hers were the last words spoken in their bedroom for a long time as Kagura proceeded to make love to her husband. She once again leaned forward to kiss him deeply, pouring all her feelings into that one action.

As Sesshoumaru accepted his wife's kiss, and allowed her to undress him, he could not help but think that _he _was the lucky one. Over a decade ago, on a cold lonely night, Kagura Onigumo had entered his life. It may have taken them some time to come together, but he really could not imagine life without her anymore. Valentine's Day would always be special to him not because it presented him with an occasion to spoil and pamper the woman he loved, but rather because of what had been delivered to him on that day eleven years ago: his heart.

**THE END**

A/N: There you have it. It's done! I really can't believe I finished Special Delivery. This story was hard labor, and will always have a special place in my heart. I'm dying to know what you guys thought about how the different characters turned out. I know most were expected, but I hope there were still some surprises :p

Thanks again for all the amazing praise, support and love. I couldn't have kept working on this fanfic had it not been for all of my dear readers. I'll try to have the next chapter of Secret Lovers out as soon as possible, so keep your eyes opened for that.

Yours truly,

~Saphira404


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